Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) ClimateWise has appointed Tokio Marine Kiln’s Vivek Syal and RenaissanceRe’s Ian Branagan as co-chairs of its Executive Insurance Advisory Committee.
ClimateWise brings the insurance industry together through a network of members convened by the University of Cambridge’s Sustainable Leadership Institute to combine sustainable leadership with world-leading research to tackle the impacts of climate change
In their new roles, Syal and Branagan will be supported by the ClimateWise Management Committee, led by newly appointed Chair Rachel Delhaise, Chief Sustainability Officer at Convex, and Vice Chair Jonathan Kassian, Head of Flood Re Research.
Syal serves as chief underwriting officer and board member at Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), where he has been with the company for the past eight years and previously served as group chief risk officer.
Prior to joining TMK, he was chief risk officer at ProSight Specialty Insurance and held roles at the Bank of England, PwC and Brit Insurance.
Branagan currently serves as Senior Vice President of Innovation at RenaissanceRe. Previously, he served as the company’s chief risk officer and has more than 30 years of experience in innovation, risk management and disaster modeling.
ClimateWise noted that its new leadership will help drive the collaborative action and scalable innovation the industry needs to address the growing systemic risks of climate change and nature degradation.
Branagan commented: “ClimateWise plays an important role in convening the insurance industry to address the growing risks of climate change through innovative research, robust data collection and practical collaboration. I am proud to serve as co-chair of the Climate Smart Insurance Advisory Committee and look forward to working with our members to support a more sustainable future.”
“Climate change is reshaping risks across our industry and society,” said Syal. “As co-chair of the ClimateWise Insurance Advisory Committee, I am committed to bringing our industry together to showcase our strengths, build resilience, and better support those most vulnerable to climate impacts.”
Delhaise said: “Since its founding in 2007, ClimateWise has played a key role in shaping the insurance industry’s approach to climate-related risks and opportunities. I very much look forward to helping shape the next chapter.”
Kassian added: “ClimateWise brings the insurance industry together to continuously improve the way we manage and reduce risk in a changing climate. It provides valuable thought leadership and benchmarking and I am delighted to serve as Vice Chairman of the Management Board.”