Willis Signals Push Into ILS Space With Hire of Industry Veteran William Dubinsky
New York, NY, April 20, 2010 — Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, announced
today the appointment of Bill Dubinsky as Managing Director and Head of Insurance—Linked Securities (ILS) for
Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), effective April 27. Based in New York, Mr. Dubinsky will
report to Tony Ursano, CEO, WCMA, and will be charged with overseeing the division’s expansion into
the ILS space.
Since WCMA was created in April 2009, the division has built upon Willis' existing capital markets capability
and advises insurance and reinsurance companies on mergers and acquisitions, as well as a broad array
of capital markets products.
Mr. Dubinsky will be leading WCMA’s charge to become a significant player in the ILS space. He
has a strong background in both the capital markets and reinsurance. His most recent role was
at Swiss Re Capital Markets, where he had lead responsibility for originating and structuring ILS transactions
for reinsurers, insurers, corporates and government entities.
Prior to his role at Swiss Re, Mr. Dubinsky was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch, where
he worked in the Financial Institutions Group, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, demutualizations and financings for
insurance and reinsurance companies. Prior to his role at Merrill Lynch, he worked with Aon Capital
Markets in the initial years of the ILS market.
Commenting on Mr. Dubinsky’s appointment, Tony Ursano said, “WCMA is committed to being a major player in
the ILS space and hiring Bill to run the effort is the first in a number
of steps we intend to take to strengthen our position. Bill has executed over 25 catastrophe
bond transactions over his years in the industry. We are delighted to welcome him to our
team.”
Mr. Dubinsky said, “I am excited to be joining Willis and to have the opportunity to further
develop the business. As the ILS market continues to grow and evolve, WCMA coupled with the
broader resources of Willis, especially Willis Re, is uniquely positioned to deliver best—in—class ILS solutions to
clients.”
Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk
management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around
the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team
of approximately 17,000 Associates serving clients in approximately 190 countries. Additional information on Willis may be
found at www.willis.com.
###