London, 10 November 2026 – Canopius Group, a leading global specialty and P&C (re)insurer, today announces two appointments to its UK underwriting leadership team as it grows and strengthens its capabilities across all classes. Jake Gibbs will join Canopius as Head of UK Short Tail, while Simon Mantell will join as Head of UK Long Tail.
In these new roles, Jake and Simon will be responsible for providing Class Heads with closer senior support as they execute the plan for their portfolios. It will strengthen the business’ capabilities for brokers and clients in line with its growth trajectory and underwriting focus.
Jake joins from Arch Insurance International, where he spent almost two decades and most recently served as Head of Marine, Energy and Construction. His focus will be on the teams delivering the business strategy, with a strong commitment to developing and retaining talented people, and his UK Short Tail remit will cover the Natural Resources, Property, and Specialty classes.
Simon joins from Lockton, where he was a Partner in Global Professional & Financial Lines. Before moving into broking, he spent 15 years at QBE, progressing to Portfolio Manager and becoming responsible for QBE’s largest Professional Indemnity portfolio. He brings a clear, analytical approach and his UK Long Tail remit will cover its UK Casualty, Cyber, and Finpro lines.
The appointments reflect the establishment of a new layer of senior underwriting leadership between the UK CUO, Alois Rouffiac, and the UK Class Heads. It builds on the appointment of Rachel Webber as Head of UK Reinsurance earlier this year, and they are expected to join in Q2 2027.
Alois Rouffiac, UK CUO, Canopius, comments:
“Jake and Simon are both collaborative and empowering leaders who will focus on helping teams deliver on their respective strategies, all of which support our overarching ambitions for the business. Their appointments demonstrate our continued commitment to maintaining our position as one of the leading underwriting teams in the Lloyd’s market, while always putting our people and culture front and centre.”