CFC confirms Trueman’s exit following strategic review and “reshaping” of CUO role

By James Thaler

Feb 12 - CFC Group has confirmed the exit of global chief underwriting officer Dan Trueman after only a year in the post, saying that it plans to “reshape” the position following a strategic review and expressing gratitude for the executive’s contributions.

Cyber Risk Insurer broke the news of Trueman’s departure earlier on Wednesday evening, reporting that CFC and the executive had mutually agreed to part ways.

A spokesperson confirmed the leadership restructure in a statement to this publication.

“Having undertaken a strategic review of our structure, ensuring CFC is positioned for our next exciting stage of global growth, we have decided to reshape the CUO role. As a result, we are sad to share that Dan Trueman will be leaving the business,” the company said in a statement.

CFC said it is “extremely grateful for Dan’s leadership during a key period of change at CFC.

“He joined the business when it was in a state of flux and has shown unwavering energy, dedication, market knowledge and product insight over the last year,” the company said Wednesday.

CFC called Trueman “instrumental” in reviewing its cyber offering, highlighting the executive’s work on a key upcoming product launch in the second quarter under the global leadership of James Burns.

Burns in late January was named CFC’s new global head of cyber. He has been with CFC for over a dozen years and until recently served as head of cyber strategy.

London-based Burns previously worked for Zurich Insurance.

“Dan has also supported the development of CFC’s home-grown talent, evidenced in the further recent promotions of Tim Boyce to deputy CUO and Michael Brunero to interim US MD,” CFC said in a statement.

“Dan has always been a great supporter of CFC, both in his previous roles and most recently in the organisation and we look forward to working with him in the future as he takes on his next challenge,” the company added.

CFC said Trueman’s responsibilities as CUO role will now be split out across CFC’s senior underwriting leadership. It also expressed “great confidence in this bench of leaders who will step up to drive CFC’s ambitious growth plans in 2025 and beyond”.

Trueman also commented on his departure.

“I feel very proud of what we’ve managed to achieve since I joined CFC, including multiple product launches, continuing to enhance the value proposition to our clients and carriers, and supporting the development and succession of CFC's Underwriting leaders and their teams,” Trueman said in a statement.

“It’s been a privilege to work with such talented and dedicated people, and to be part of the CFC journey,” he added.

Louise O’Shea, who took over as CFC’s group CEO last year, also expressed her appreciation for Trueman’s time with the firm.

“We are very grateful to Dan for the stability, leadership and deep market insight he has provided throughout his time here, as well as his flexibility, as the role evolved significantly during an intense period of change for CFC,” O’Shea commented.

“He has been dedicated to delivering fair value for our clients, improving our product mix and supporting our efforts to remain at the forefront of the emerging risk landscape. He will be missed and we look forward to working with him in the future,” O’Shea concluded.

Trueman had been recruited by CFC founders David Walsh and Graeme Newman, who were forced to exit the company after two decades in early 2024 following a Lloyd’s investigation into non-financial misconduct.

It is understood that those executives’ departures around the time that Trueman joined CFC played a role in his decision to leave the company after less than a year.

In addition to the exits of Walsh and Newman, Trueman is the latest major departure from CFC in the last month, following the exit of CFC USA CEO Shannon Groeber in January.

And late last month, Cyber Risk Insurer broke the news that CFC had unified its global cyber and proactive teams to enhance consistency across territories, promoting Burns to global head of cyber and Jason Hart to managing director, proactive and global security services.

Cyber Risk Insurer revealed in September that Axis Capital and CFC had ended their partnership as a result of “diverging strategies”, with the Bermudian (re)insurer looking to deleverage its delegated underwriting cyber business and expand its middle market and large accounts.

Axis then subsequently announced it was migrating its SME-focused cyber business to Gordon Malin-led insurtech MGA Elpha Secure, which Axis continues to support both from a capacity standpoint as well as a shareholder.

CFC is estimated to write ~$1.5bn in gross written premiums including its Lloyd’s syndicate, with roughly half of its premium volume understood to be made up of cyber business.

Trueman’s exit comes as the US cyber market gathered this week at the NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit in Miami Beach, Florida.

In an interview at the event with The Insurer TV, Vantage Risk's cyber head Juliet White said that pricing in the business line remains adequate and the segment has reached “normalization” after a period of hardening, while adding that better risk controls enforced by the insurance industry have driven down ransom payments.