RMS names Michael Steel GM as CEO White departs

Catastrophe risk modelling firm RMS, one of the leading insurance and reinsurance market analytics providers, has announced a change of leadership as its CEO departs and the company promotes from within to a new General Manager position.

Michael Steel now takes what is the top leadership position of General Manager at RMS, promoted from his Global Head of Business Development at the risk modeller.

Steel succeeds Karen White, who has now stepped down from the company.

The move comes as RMS continues to be more deeply integrated within the wider Moody’s organisation, after the rating agency and data provider acquired the risk modelling firm last year.

Moody’s added to its insurance data and analytics business with the $2 billion acquisition of RMS, as it sought to bring catastrophe and climate risk analytics and insurance and reinsurance expertise into its wider business, with one eye to the future on climate risk modelling opportunities.

Steel has more than 30 years of experience in risk and capital management for the insurance industry, and had been at RMS since 2016.

He will work alongside Steve Tulenko, President of Moody’s Analytics, and the Moody’s and RMS senior management teams to ensure RMS continues its mission and vision.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity at RMS, and excited to achieve our vision to ‘make every risk known’ to help our customers make better decisions and be more resilient,” explained Steel. “Together with Moody’s, our focus is to deliver Moody’s broader set of data and analytics to the insurance sector, expand our core offerings beyond the insurance sector, and accelerate the development of global integrated risk capabilities to address the next generation of risk assessment.”

Steel has a long career in insurance and reinsurance, having served as Group Chief Risk Officer at AXIS Capital, prior to which he had a career in reinsurance broking, with 12 years at Benfield (later Aon Benfield and now Aon Reinsurance Solutions).

He currently also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of Allianz Re Dublin dac and has previously been an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of Berkshire Hathaway’s international business.