The Board of Directors of Global Indemnity Group, LLC (GBLI) has appointed Jessica E. Buss as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GBLI and of its two operating platforms, Katalyx Holdings LLC and Belmont Holdings GX, Inc., effective immediately.
In her new role, Buss succeeds Joseph W. “Jay” Brown, who has served in the role since 2022. She joined GBLI’s Board on 26 October 2026, and will stay on as a Director.
In her new role, Buss will scale a platform Fox Paine spent 23 years assembling and put GBLI’s A-rated paper to work for agents, wholesale partners and new specialty underwriting teams.
She will also lead Katalyx’s expansion into excess and surplus lines, managing general agencies across wholesale, retail, and direct-to-consumer channels.
Over the last four years, GBLI developed Kaleidoscope, its proprietary underwriting, policy and data platform, now rolling out to its agency partners. GBLI has also equipped Kaleidoscope with AI-enabled underwriting that evaluates and prices risks outside traditional binding authority.
Buss has spent most of her career building specialty insurance businesses, she was the CEO of GuideOne Insurance, Argo Group, and Open Lending. At Open Lending, she also served as Chairman of the Board and chaired its Audit Committee before becoming CEO.
Earlier, Russ served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Rockhill Insurance and led its sale to State Auto Mutual for 1.6x book value, then ran State Auto Mutual’s $1.5 billion commercial and specialty division.
Saul Fox, Founder and Chairman of GBLI, and Founder and CEO of Fox Paine & Company, commented on the appointment, “GBLI built what most specialty insurers can only buy or borrow: proprietary underwriting technology, a national agency network and five A-rated carriers behind every policy we write. A platform like that demands a builder, and Jessica builds. She took GuideOne past $1 billion in premium and created a $400 million E&S business along the way.
“She knows how to make money in specialty casualty, how to attract first-rate talent and how to use technology to grow faster and run leaner than the competition. That is the leader GBLI needs to turn its platform into a far larger franchise. I thank Jay Brown for his vision, his service and his support of this transition.”
Brown said, “Four years ago, Saul Fox asked me to move from GBLI’s Board to the CEO’s office and prepare GBLI for a market that rewards disciplined underwriting backed by competitive technology as AI tools mature. With Kaleidoscope now rolling out to our agency partners, Jessica takes over at the right time. As a shareholder, I am confident GBLI has a strong, profitable growth path ahead.”
Buss added, “GBLI has what matters most in specialty insurance: disciplined underwriting, strong carriers, deep agency relationships and technology built for this market’s future. My job is to build on it. I look forward to working with our team, our agents and our partners to make GBLI one of the leading specialty franchises in the country. I also thank Jay for his leadership and for his help with this transition.”
