3 months ago
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General Accident Insurance Company is reorganising its management structure after expanding into the Caribbean.
The company’s long-time managing director, Sharon Donaldson, remains the top boss overseeing operations that span three countries, but her title has been changed to Group CEO. Meanwhile, Gregory St Hugh Foster has been named as country manager of the Jamaica operations, taking over the day-to-day management that Donaldson used to perform, effective May 1.
“All I’ve done is shed out Jamaica from an operational point of view,” said Donaldson, regarding the changes.
Foster, a chartered accountant who has been with General Accident since 2014, most recently served as chief operating officer. Both he and Donaldson sit on the company’s board.
Barbados is led by Country Manager Wanda Mayers. But as for Trinidad & Tobago, the Group CEO said only that some procedural matters were to be sorted out prior to commenting on the leadership there. The company’s website lists Lesley Miller as interim CEO of General Accident in Trinidad.
All country leaders report to Donaldson, who says they are all under 40 years old and were selected with leadership succession in mind.
“We can’t, at this point in time, figure out which one of them will be me in 20 or 10 years’ time, (since) they’re all brand new to the role,” Donaldson said of the line-up.
Measured by its assets, General Accident is a $12-billion company. Last year, the general insurer churned out more than $11 billion in record revenue but saw a dramatic drop in profit, which fell by more than half to $248 million, due to higher claims and reinsurance costs.
Under the new management structure, Donaldson will focus on the buildout of what will become GENAC Caribbean.
“I’m dealing with the strategic direction of the general group. I am looking to do further geographical expansion. Obviously, we are going to be a regional insurance company. We’ll continue to grow our footprint across the region,” she said.
The company’s target for expansion includes Guyana as well as markets beyond the English-speaking Caribbean.
“We haven’t decided yet, but certainly we could look someplace in the Dutch Caribbean. We have no presence in the Dutch Caribbean. We would like to look at that,” said Donaldson.
The mode of expansion, whether greenfield or through acquisition, will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
“We’re not going to say we’ll only acquire, or we’ll only start out greenfield; it’s where the economics make sense,” she said.
“If there’s an opportunity to acquire and it is economically viable, we will. If there is none and then, and it is better to apply for a license, then we will. We’re not afraid to take either pathway to get us to where we would like to go,” Donaldson said.
English (US) ·