View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2005/08/10/58179.htm

Cooper Gay Venture to Strengthen North American Reinsurance Treaty Operations

London-based Cooper Gay Group and Michael W. Cashman, have joined forces to form Cooper Gay & Cashman, a new reinsurance brokerage firm that will focus on the North American Treaty Reinsurance Brokerage market. The joint venture operation is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn.

Michael W. Cashman will serve as Cooper Gay & Cashman’s chairman and chief executive officer.

A native of St. Paul, Minn., Cashman, 56, recently served as an executive vice president of Aon Corporation and vice chairman of Aon Re Global. Previously, he spent 22 years with E.W. Blanch Holdings, rising to president and chief operating officer, as well as chairman and CEO of E.W. Blanch Co., the Minneapolis-based risk management and global reinsurance broker.

The new company will be located at 601 Carlson Parkway in Minneapolis, and has plans to expand with other office locations in the future.

“This partnership not only solidifies our long-term commitment to the market, but signals that we intend to be a major player,” said Jeremy Goodman, chief executive of Cooper Gay North America, based in New York.

Added Toby Esser, chief executive of Cooper Gay Holdings in London: “Having Michael partner with us and to lead in this endeavor is both a privilege and a major success not only for us, but our clients. This joint venture will complement the existing overseas Cooper Gay treaty operations and serves as a strong foundation for us to become a major treaty broker in the U.S., Canada and Bermuda.”

Cashman commented, “We are committed to making Cooper Gay & Cashman the preeminent independent treaty broker in the United States. We will do so by populating our company with the industry’s finest talent and bringing world class service and analytics to our clients.”

Cashman holds a B.S. degree magna cum laude from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. (1971), where he served as a trustee and chaired its investment committee. He was instrumental in establishing the E.W. Blanch Sr. endowed chair of insurance in 1987 at the university and served on its insurance advisory board.