Willis Re, a global specialist in reinsurance broking and advisory services, has appointed Neil Eckert as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Eckert will oversee Willis Re’s global broking and advisory strategy and work with the wider leadership team to support the company’s growth across its platforms.
With around 40 years of experience across reinsurance, insurance and capital markets, Eckert has held roles spanning broking, risk transfer, underwriting and the provision of capital to the insurance sector. His career has included senior positions on both the intermediary and underwriting sides of the market.
Eckert joins Willis Re from Bermuda-based reinsurer Conduit Re, which he co-founded in 2020. He initially served as Executive Chairman of Conduit Re before becoming its CEO in 2025. He will take up the position at Willis Re after completing his existing contractual commitments.
His career began in reinsurance broking in 1986, when he joined Benfield Group plc. He became a member of the company’s board in 1988. Nearly a decade later, in 1995, he established Benfield & Rea Investment Trust, a listed investment vehicle designed to provide capital for underwriting capacity at Lloyd’s and insurance companies.
The investment trust was subsequently relaunched as Brit Insurance Holdings plc in 1999. Eckert was the company’s founding CEO, a position he held until 2005, and continued to serve as a non-executive director until 2008.
Eckert later expanded his work into environmental markets and climate-related businesses. In 2005, he co-founded Climate Exchange plc, a platform specialising in carbon-emissions trading, and served as its CEO until the company was sold in 2010.
He has since founded or chaired a number of businesses operating in environmental and climate risk markets, including Trading Emissions plc and Econergy plc. Eckert also serves as chairman of IncubEx, a Chicago-based platform focused on environmental derivatives.
IncubEx acquired Insurwave in 2021. The marine-focused commercial insurtech business brought digital placement and data capabilities that could be applied across the broader specialty and corporate insurance market.
Eckert’s more recent activities have included the creation of Conduit Holdings Limited, where he was involved in raising $1 billion through its initial public offering. Willis Re said the transaction was, at the time, the largest IPO of a start-up on the London Stock Exchange.
His appointment gives Willis Re a chief executive with experience across several parts of the insurance and reinsurance market, including broking, underwriting, capital raising and insurance-related technology. Willis Re said Eckert will focus on its global broking and advisory strategy as he takes on the leadership role.
Lucy Clarke, Board Member of Willis Re, said: “It is such a privilege to have Neil joining as CEO of Willis Re. He is one of the most experienced, entrepreneurial, driven and technologically astute people in our industry. His career is grounded in the reinsurance industry, but also spans insurance broking, capital, technology and climate ventures, as well as founding and scaling businesses across public markets and private ventures.
“That breadth of perspective is exactly what our clients and trading partners need as the market continues to evolve. Neil has built and led businesses across the full reinsurance value chain, and I know his leadership will sharpen our proposition and accelerate our growth ambitions.”
Eckert added: “I am delighted to be joining Willis Re at such an important moment for the business. Having spent my career on both the broking and capital sides of this industry, I understand what clients and markets need from a broker: technical excellence, capital insight, and the imagination to apply technology to genuinely improve outcomes. I look forward to working with the team to build on Willis Re’s momentum and to deliver for our clients, colleagues and shareholders.”
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