Specialist global reinsurance broker Willis Re has appointed industry veteran Neil Eckert as its chief executive officer, the company announced on Wednesday.
Eckert will assume the role after completing his current contractual obligations. He joins from Bermuda-based Conduit Re, which he co-founded in 2020 and has led as CEO since 2025.
“Neil is one of the most experienced, entrepreneurial, driven and technologically astute people in our industry,” Lucy Clarke, a board member of Willis Re, said in a statement.
“His career is grounded in the reinsurance industry, but also spans insurance broking, capital, technology and climate ventures. That breadth of perspective is exactly what our clients and trading partners need as the market continues to evolve.”
Eckert brings four decades of experience across reinsurance, insurance and capital markets, with a career spanning broking, underwriting, risk transfer and insurance-linked capital.
Eckert began his career in 1986 as a reinsurance broker at Benfield Group. In 1995, he founded Benfield & Rea Investment Trust, a listed investment vehicle that raised capital to support Lloyd’s and insurance underwriting capacity.
He also co-founded Climate Exchange plc in 2005, a global carbon emissions trading platform, and served as its chief executive until the business was sold in 2010.
More recently, Eckert co-founded Conduit Holdings, helping raise US$1bn in what was, at the time, the largest initial public offering of a start-up on the London Stock Exchange.
The leadership change comes as Willis Re expands its global reinsurance capabilities. In July, the London-based broker launched a global life reinsurance practice to provide advisory and broking services for life insurers, reinsurers, and pension and annuity providers. It is led by Christian Howells, head of life reinsurance, who recently joined the company.
Willis Re has also been strengthening its regional leadership, appointing Richard Jones as head of Asia operations in April.
