April 27, 2023 | CHICAGO, IL – Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RYAN) (“Ryan Specialty”), a leading international specialty insurance firm, is pleased to announce effective immediately the appointment of Katie Davies to CEO and Jeff Smith to President & Chief Underwriting Officer of Power.Energy.Risk’s (PERse) North American operations, Ryan Specialty’s renewable energy managing general underwriter (MGU).

Mike Bernay, the preceding CEO of PERse, will serve as a senior advisor to the business for the next 100 days as he moves into retirement. Mike was a founder of PERse in 2011 and has led an exceptional career as a business builder and a pioneer in the renewable energy space.

Katie Davies has spent her career underwriting and building facilities and teams dedicated to heavily engineered and cat-exposed risks. Katie has focused the greater portion of her career in property underwriting; however, she began her insurance career broking power industry risks in London and New York. Katie will continue to serve as CEO of JEM Underwriting Managers (cat property) and Technical Risk Underwriters (builder’s risk).

Jeff Smith is a founding member of PERse and has spent his career in renewables MGU space. Jeff is becoming President of PERse while maintaining his role as Chief Underwriting Officer. Jeff has been instrumental in the launch and growth of PERse where he has been a leader for the company in underwriting, engineering and claims management.

Commenting on PERse’s leadership, Miles Wuller, CEO & President of Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers, said, “Congratulations to Mike for such an exceptional career in the renewables space and for launching the PERse brand for Ryan Specialty 12+ years ago. We, his Ryan colleagues and friends, wish him all the best. In this leadership transition, I am excited to see Katie share her expertise and existing platform resources in capital management, loss control, and engineering to PERse. Moreover, this is a great recognition of Jeff’s exceptional contribution to building and leading PERse.”

Katie can be reached at Katie.Davies@ryansg.com or 312.637.8289.

Jeff can be reached at JSmith@powerenergyrisk.com or 949.873.0325.

About Ryan Specialty

Founded in 2010, Ryan Specialty (NYSE: RYAN) is a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents and carriers. Ryan Specialty provides distribution, underwriting, product development, administration and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter with delegated authority from insurance carriers. Our mission is to provide industry-leading innovative specialty insurance solutions for insurance brokers, agents and carriers. Learn more at ryanspecialty.com.

About PERse (Power.Energy.Risk)

Power.Energy.Risk (PERse) is a Managing General Underwriter specializing in property and casualty insurance products for energy and power production facilities with a specialized focus on renewable energy in the USA, UK and EU. PERse can be accessed through retail and wholesale brokers in the renewable energy space as well as those with traditional energy or property/casualty backgrounds. PERse works with brokers and their clients (project developers, owners, utilities, equipment manufacturers, lenders, and their insurance advisors) and insurance carriers to meet the challenges of the complex exposures faced by new and rapidly evolving technologies. ©2023 Ryan Specialty, LLC For more information on PERse, please visit powerenergyrisk.com.