Descartes has announced an expansion into Latin America with the opening of a new office in Mexico City. The office will be headed by Francisco Javier Herrera Escalante (pictured), who has been appointed as country manager for Mexico.
The decision to establish its first office in Latin America comes in response to growing inquiries from brokers and corporate clients in the region, particularly for parametric insurance products covering agriculture, tropical cyclones, renewable energy, and earthquakes. The Mexico City office will enable the company to meet this increasing demand.
Herrera, a seasoned actuary with over 20 years of experience in Mexico’s insurance sector, brings a wealth of expertise to Descartes. He will lead the company’s operations in Mexico and work to strengthen Descartes’ broker network across Latin America. Prior to joining Descartes, Herrera held leadership roles at prominent insurance and brokerage firms, including Chubb, Marsh, and most recently, as general manager at reinsurance broker Crest.
Raul Revilla, commercial director for Latin America at Descartes Underwriting, expressed confidence in Herrera’s ability to drive the company’s regional growth. “Francisco’s expertise and experience will help accelerate our growth ambitions in this important region by expanding on our local broking relationships and fine-tuning our parametric offering to the needs of clients in the region,” he said.
Daniel Vetter, Descartes’ head of the Americas, highlighted the significance of the new office. “We’re excited to be expanding Descartes’ reach further into Latin America. Francisco’s market expertise and existing client and broker relationships will be instrumental in continuing to build out our platform in the region,” he stated.
Herrera himself expressed enthusiasm about joining Descartes, noting the company’s forward-thinking approach. “I am delighted to join Descartes, a dynamic company with a unique, data-driven approach that will continue to deliver added value by delivering innovative parametric solutions to brokers and clients,” he said.
Descartes is a global corporate insurer that partners with brokers to provide protection against climate, cyber, and emerging risks. The company has raised over $141 million to support its expansion across Europe, the US, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
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