Insurance Leadership

Co-Chief Executive Officer, Aquarian Insurance Holdings

Jeff
Burt

Jeff Burt serves as the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Aquarian Insurance Holdings. Prior to joining the Aquarian Insurance Holdings leadership team, Mr. Burt was the Chief Executive Officer at Somerset Re for five years, where he provided vision and strategic direction for the organization. Before that, he served as President of Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America and was a member of the company’s Strategic Council. He joined the company in 2003 and led the company’s Financial Solutions business. Under his leadership, Hannover Re became an industry leader in the provision of structured reinsurance solutions, having closed over 100 transactions. He guided the ongoing expansion of Hannover Re, founding Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America (Bermuda) Ltd. in 2014, and its structured reinsurance affiliate Kubera Insurance (SAC) Ltd. in 2018, serving as President and CEO of both companies. Prior to Hannover, Mr. Burt held several actuarial roles at Penn Mutual Life.

Mr. Burt earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science from Lebanon Valley College. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

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Co-Chief Executive Officer, Aquarian Insurance Holdings
President, Investors Heritage

John
Frye

John Frye serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Aquarian Insurance Holdings and President of Investors Heritage. Mr. Frye previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Advisors Excel, a leading insurance marketing firm. He served as Chief Financial Officer at Security Benefit and its life insurance subsidiaries. Mr. Frye began his career with General Electric, where he spent 20 years in numerous senior positions at GE Capital, the company’s financial services business. He served as Chief Financial Officer for both the GE Employers Reassurance Business – a $25 billion life and health insurance business – and GE’s commercial insurance business, responsible for covering medical, municipal, special lines and catastrophic risk, as well as GE’s European fleet leasing business. 

He earned a B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University.

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General Counsel & Head of Regulatory Affairs, Aquarian Insurance Holdings

Zac Anshutz

Zac Anshutz is the General Counsel and Head of Regulatory Affairs for Aquarian Insurance Holdings. Prior to joining Aquarian, Mr. Anshutz served as AVP Compliance Distribution for Sammons Financial Group. He also served as Chief Risk Officer for two insurance distribution entities, Advisors Excel and Signal Advisors. Prior to entering the private sector, he served in various roles for the Kansas Insurance Department over a 10-year period, including General Counsel and Assistant Commissioner under the Honorable Sandy Praeger.

Mr. Anshutz graduated cum laude from Emporia State University with a BS degree and a law degree from Washburn University School of Law.

Chief Executive Officer, Somerset Re

Danish
Iqbal

Danish Iqbal serves as Chief Executive Officer of Somerset Re, returning to the company after serving as Head of Pricing and Valuation earlier in his career. Immediately prior to rejoining Somerset Re as CEO, Mr. Iqbal served as President of Neptune Reinsurance Limited (“Neptune”), a Bermuda-domiciled reinsurer integrated into Somerset Re in December 2024. As President, he oversaw the establishment of the organization’s infrastructure and ensured the entity’s licensing with the Bermuda Monetary Authority. 

Before Neptune, Mr. Iqbal was Chief Actuary at Aspida Re (formerly F&G Re). He was responsible for all actuarial functions and led F&G Re’s sale process to Ares Management Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Iqbal was one of the early employees at Somerset Re and responsible for Pricing and Valuation. He was instrumental in growing the company from its infancy to its initial $2bn in AUM. 

Prior to moving to Bermuda, Mr. Iqbal was head of insurance and pension product development at QRM Inc., in Chicago, where he worked with numerous Fortune 500 clients. Before QRM, Mr. Iqbal held actuarial roles at Genworth Financial and Life Settlement Acquisitions, LLC. 

He earned his BMATH in Honors Statistics from the University of Waterloo. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Mr. Iqbal also holds the CFA charter. 

Chief Executive Officer & General Counsel, Investors Heritage

Robert M. Hardy Jr.

Robert M. Hardy Jr. serves as the Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel at Investors Heritage, with over 30 years of dedicated leadership and service to the organization. Prior to Investors Heritage, Mr. Hardy worked with a Kentucky-based law firm where he developed an expertise in various corporate, securities and regulatory matters. In addition to his executive roles, Mr. Hardy actively contributes to the industry as a board member of the National Alliance of Life Companies.  

Mr. Hardy received his JD from the University of Louisville and an LLM from Georgetown University. He earned a BA from Duke University. 

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Chief Financial Officer, Investors Heritage

Larry Johnson

Larry Johnson serves as the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Executive Vice President at Investors Heritage. Before joining Investors Heritage, Mr. Johnson worked with Ernst & Young LLP as an Audit Manager, primarily serving the insurance industry. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Kentucky Society of CPAs. 

Mr. Johnson is a Certified Public Accountant and earned both an MS and a BS from the University of Kentucky.

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Chief Investment Officer, Somerset Re

Clark Jeffries

Clark Jeffries serves as the Chief Investment Officer at Somerset Re, overseeing the company’s investment strategies and asset portfolios. Mr. Jeffries joined Somerset Re from Bank of America where he was a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group within the Investment Banking Division. He was responsible for leading a variety of the firm’s relationships in the insurance and insurance services sectors and advised clients on many industry-defining merger & acquisition and financing transactions. Prior to joining Bank of America, he was a Vice President in the Financial Institutions Group of Citi. 

Mr. Jeffries majored in Finance at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with BA degree with Honors. 

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Head of New Business Development, Somerset Re

Manisha Dias

Manisha Dias is the Head of New Business Development for Somerset Re, responsible for leading all commercial activity for the business globally and overseeing policy for underwriting and pricing. 
 
Prior to joining Somerset, Ms. Dias was Head of Partnerships at SCOR Global Life Reinsurance in Charlotte. She co-founded the partnerships business, which encompassed the development of proprietary and digitally-enabled Life product offerings, and led various teams through the growth of the business in the U.S. market. She was previously at SCOR in Toronto, responsible for new business development and cultivating an innovation footprint for the Canadian market. Prior to SCOR, she held several traditional and non-traditional actuarial roles globally across Canada, US, and Asia at John Hancock and Manulife. 
 
Ms. Dias has an Honors bachelor’s degree from the University of Waterloo. She also holds certifications as a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst, and a Strategic Partner Leadership Professional.

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Chief Underwriting Officer, Somerset Re

Thomas Porter

Thomas Porter is the Chief Underwriting Officer for Somerset Re, responsible for overseeing the firm’s underwriting and pricing activities. 
 
Prior to joining Somerset Re, Mr. Porter served in multiple leadership roles at Hannover Re in Orlando including Head of Financial Reporting & Valuation and Lead Pricing & Structuring Actuary for Hannover Re’s financial solutions structured reinsurance, captive, and derivative transactions. Since 2005, he has been dedicated to the reinsurance industry, specializing in delivering customized, efficient, and optimized solutions that enhance capital, liquidity, earnings, and solvency.
 
Mr. Porter is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He graduated with a BS degree from Florida State University.

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Chief Information Officer, Investors Heritage

Andrew
Moore

Andrew Moore is the Chief Information Officer and a Senior Vice President at Investors Heritage Life Insurance Company. Mr. Moore began his career at Investors Heritage and has previously served as Director and Vice President of Information Services. Mr. Moore has led the company through multiple modernization projects enabling rapid value delivery to the company’s internal and external customers via flexible integration points and spearheads the company’s cybersecurity initiatives, ensuring robust protection of customer data and corporate information systems.

Mr.Moore earned an MBA. from the University of Louisville and a BS from Centre College.  

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Senior Vice President, Sales and Distribution, Investors Heritage

Garth Waterfield

Garth Waterfield is the Senior Vice President of Sales & Distribution at Investors Heritage Life Insurance Company. Mr. Waterfield began his insurance career at Investors Heritage and has previously served as VP Agency and Director of Agency Sales & Support. Mr. Waterfield has overseen the growth of the sales and distribution through relationship building with our independent marketing organizations and producers.

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Senior Vice President of Client Operations, Investors Heritage

Kate Montgomery

Kate Montgomery serves as the Senior Vice President of Client Operations at Investors Heritage. Ms. Montgomery started in a management trainee position with Investors Heritage in 2004 with a focus on operations, administration, and client services.   She was the Vice President of Policy Services and then transitioned to the role overseeing Client Operations in 2020, with oversight of all client facing teams.  Ms. Montgomery was promoted to Senior Vice President in January of 2023. 

Mrs. Montgomery graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BA, cum laude. 

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Chief Actuary, Investors Heritage

Wen Liu

Wen Liu is the Chief Actuary and a Principal at Aquarian Holdings. Previously, Mr. Liu was a Senior Consultant at Oliver Wyman. He was an Associate Vice President and Actuary at Vantis Life, and an Actuary at ING.

Mr. Liu earned his BSc from the University of Toronto.

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Interim Chief Financial Officer, Aquarian Holdings
Chief Financial Officer, Somerset Re

Steve Robb

Steve Robb serves as the Interim Chief Financial Officer for Aquarian Holdings and the Chief Financial Officer for Somerset Re. He is responsible for the company’s financial, risk, and capital management, as well as for its financial reporting functions.  Mr. Robb formerly served as EVP and CFO at AXA XL, overseeing financial, actuarial, and investment matters, as well as tax activities and global treasury functions, including capital, cash, FX, collateral, and liquidity management. Mr. Robb joined XL as VP of SEC Reporting in 2004 and held various positions including SVP of Accounting Policy, Chief Accounting Officer, and Group Controller before being named CFO in March 2017. Prior to XL, he was with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bermuda as Senior Manager and Insurance Industry Group Leader, where he specialized in financial services, particularly insurance and reinsurance companies. He started his career at Pricewaterhouse in Montreal where he served in multiple leadership roles in their Insurance Group. 

Mr. Robb graduated with a BS degree from McGill University.

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