Howden Re, the reinsurance and risk advisory arm of Howden, has announced the expansion of its Cyber Reinsurance capabilities in threat intelligence and education with the appointment of Harriet Gruen as Head of Threat Intelligence, Education & Training.
This move follows a period of rapid growth for the cyber reinsurance team as the demand for cyber reinsurance services continues to increase in an enhanced risk landscape.
The new Threat Intelligence function is essential for Howden’s approach regarding the recalibration of cyber risk appetite informed by better data, improved interpretation of that data, and a more refined approach to modelling.
Howden Re’s believes that cyber carriers will take an increasingly cat-focused approach to reinsurance and retro buying, which is one of the fields in which the cyber team has considerable expertise and experience, the firm stated.
Luke Foord-Kelcey, Global Head of Cyber, Howden Re, commented: “With estimates of the Cyber insurance market growing to in excess of $40bn by 2030, there is significant recalibration needed to realise the market’s potential.
“Howden Re is at the forefront of this rapidly evolving market, notably through our approach to helping carriers better understand their own exposure and tolerance for this risk, and the members of the team pioneering the Cyber event market over the last eight years.”
Gruen, who has eight years of cyber industry experience, joins Howden as Head of Threat Intelligence, Education & Training.
She has previously served as Senior Cyber Risk Advisor at AXIS Capital in London. During this time, she helped list the first 144A cyber catastrophe bond and led investor education on cyber risk.
Previously, Gruen was a cyber risk specialist at Tokio Marine Holdings, where she was tasked with designing cyber scenarios and delivering technical training.
Gruen’s career has also seen her work at both HSBC and Digital Shadows in London in the Strategic Security Threat and Cyber Threat teams, respectively, and in the Department of the Australian Prime Minister.
Commenting on her appointment, Foord-Kelcey said: “We’re delighted to welcome Harriet to the team, having closely followed her formidable work with major cyber portfolios. Harriet’s expertise will further our commitment to guiding clients through an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape to help them realise the massive growth potential in this class.”
Gruen stated: “I am excited to be joining the experienced, market leading Cyber team at Howden Re. It is an incredible opportunity to build threat intelligence products to support our clients’ view of cyber risk, particularly around systemic exposure.
“Howden Re’s focus on innovation will provide the foundation for developing threat and research insights to guide bespoke cyber scenarios and analyse systemic dependencies. The recent global IT outage provides an example of these interdependencies, with many lessons learned around response and recovery which can inform cyber modelling assumptions.”
