Fairfax Financial Holdings appointed Brian Young as president of Fairfax Insurance Group, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
He assumed the role from Andrew Barnard, who has moved to the role of chairman of Fairfax Insurance. Barnard has held the president role since 2011.
Young has been chief executive of Odyssey Group, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial, since 2011. He joined the company in 1996.
Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax Financial who received the 2024 National Builder Award, welcomed the changes.
“Brian and Andy have worked together for nearly 35 years, the last 28 at Fairfax,” he said. “Our expansive global (re)insurance operations will benefit greatly from their collective oversight.”
In connection with Young’s recent move, Carl Overy was appointed CEO of Odyssey, also effective Jan. 1. He takes on the role after serving as CEO of OdysseyRe since April 2023. Prior to that, he was CEO of Newline and the London branch of OdysseyRe for 15 years.
“Carl is a proven leader who has devoted more than two decades of his life to Odyssey. We have no doubt that Odyssey will scale new heights under his leadership in the years to come,” Watsa commented.
At the start of the new year, Ki started operating as a standalone entity within Fairfax Group.
This development comes after the company recently acquired full ownership of Brit Limited, which launched the syndicate in 2020, from OMERS for a cash consideration of about US$383 million.
During the announcement last month, Fairfax said Ki will continue its partnership with Brit and its role as a digital follow platform, as well as its underwriting strategy, will remain unchanged.
Fairfax, which reported higher net earnings and book value per share in the third quarter of 2024, is a company that operates through its subsidiaries, primarily engaging in property and casualty insurance, as well as reinsurance and the associated investment management services.
