Former Citigroup Head, Weill, Steps Down as Chairman of Hamilton Insurance

Sanford “Sandy” Weill, the former head of Citigroup Inc., has stepped down as chairman of Hamilton Insurance Group, the Bermuda-based company backed by quantitative hedge fund firm Two Sigma Investments.

Weill, 82, is retiring effective immediately, and will be replaced as chairman by Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault, the insurer said Wednesday in a statement. Weill will still advise the company as a consultant on growth initiatives, Hamilton said.

The former banker was one of the “driving forces” in uniting insurance veterans with the analytical skills of Two Sigma, which is a technology and investment partner of Hamilton, according to the statement. He became chairman in January 2014, a month after the venture’s formation.

“I will always be grateful to him for believing in Hamilton’s potential, and look forward to his wisdom and counsel as a consultant,” Duperreault said in the statement.

Hamilton acquired Sportscover Underwriting Ltd. last year to push into the the Lloyd’s of London market and bought units from Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. in 2014 for primary insurance. “I am proud of what we have accomplished together in a short period of time,” Weill said in the statement, without saying why he is leaving.

Hamilton is “in very good shape, and Mr. Weill is remaining as a consultant and shareholder,” according to an e-mail from Mike Conway, his chief of staff. The departure is “not anything health related.”

Weill helped engineer the 1998 merger of insurer Travelers Group Inc. and Citicorp, ushering in the era of U.S. financial conglomerates.