Vida Capital, Inc., the alternative investment manager with a life settlement and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focus, has announced the appointment of a new President and CEO in Blair Wallace.
Wallace was most recently Partner and Portfolio Manager at Tenor Capital Management Company, L.P. and has a career history in structured credit investments, complex solutions and alternatives.
Vida Capital is a joint-venture partner in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and collateralised reinsurance asset manager Merion Square Capital LLC
But life settlements and also longevity linked assets make up a much larger piece of Vida’s more than $4 billion of assets under management than the ILS and reinsurance investments our readers are perhaps more familiar with. Roughly $3.6bn is on the life side of the investments business.
Vida was acquired by private equity backers Reverence Capital Partners and RedBird Capital Partners in 2019 and the company, which targets relatively uncorrelated alternative asset classes, has more recently been planning a leadership succession, which it has now successfully completed.
The changes will see Jeff Serra, Vida’s current CEO, staying on as Executive Chair of the Board and supporting the CEO transition as a special advisor.
Meanwhile, William (Bill) Tice, Vida’s current President and CIO, who oversees investment activities including the ILS operations, is set to transition into an advisory role to support Vida’s special situations strategy, through the end of this year and is then going to be departing Vida to pursue other opportunities.
As a result, the installation of a new CEO has been seen as key for Vida and now Wallace will take on the role, with support from the outgoing leadership.
Incoming CEO Blair Wallace commented on his appointment, “Vida is a unique organization with an extremely attractive investment product derived from its proprietary strategy focused on insurance-linked and specialty finance strategies. I look forward to growing the business and delivering innovative products for investors over the near and long-term.”
“Vida Capital is a world-class specialty asset management firm and we have taken the time to identify a leader that can continue building on the firm’s legacy and momentum,” explained Peter Aberg, Partner and Co-Founder at Reverence Capital Partners. “Blair is a proven leader with substantial experience in the specialty asset management sector. We are extremely pleased to have him on board and look forward to growing Vida and delivering superior products for our investors.”
Andrew Lauck, Partner at RedBird Capital Partners added, “We would like to thank Jeff Serra for his assistance in the CEO search, for his continuing service as a member of the Board of Directors and for his role as special advisor during the transition. With improved performance in 2021 for our core products, even with the difficulties of operating in a pandemic, it is testament to the hard work of the Vida team and their focus on delivering for investors. We would also like to thank Bill Tice for his contributions in co-leading the company during this period and appreciate his support in assisting the team for the rest of the year on our special situations activities.”
Bill Tice said, “I am proud of what Vida has accomplished amidst the backdrop of the pandemic. I am confident that Blair and the rest of the team will continue to build on the company’s momentum, and I wish everyone the very best in this next chapter.
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Vida Capital appoints new CEO was published by: www.Artemis.bm
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