Our Board

Mr. Brindle has a career of over 35 years in the insurance industry. Before establishing Fidelis, Richard was the driving force behind Lancashire, founding the company in October 2005 and acting as CEO until April 2014. Lancashire’s innovative and rigorous underwriting approach meant it consistently outperformed its insurance peers. Richard’s insurance career began in 1984 at Posgate and Denby Managing Agency, and since then has included spells at Syndicate 488, Charman Underwriting – where he was the main underwriter – Tarquin Underwriting from 1991 to 1998, and Ascot Underwriting Agency, where he was a non-executive board member from December 2001 to September 2005.

Charlie joined Fidelis in 2015 and brings over three decades of broking and underwriting experience.  Charlie was previously at Lancashire until November 2015 where he was Chief Risk Officer with responsibility for the group’s enterprise risk management. He started at Lancashire at its launch in October 2005, and his roles there also included Chief Underwriting Officer of the Bermuda entity and Group Underwriting Operations Director. Prior to 2005 he held a number of roles with brokers and MGAs in London, the USA and Mexico. Charlie is a member of the Executive Committee.

Robert Spass was the co-founder of Capital Z, and is a Managing Partner of the Firm.

Prior to forming Fund I in 1990, Mr. Spass was a Director in the Investment Banking Division of Salomon Brothers, Inc., with responsibility for corporate finance relationships with the insurance industry. Prior to joining Salomon Brothers, Robert Spass was a Senior Manager for Peat Marwick Main & Co., providing accounting and consulting services to the insurance industry.

Mr. Spass currently serves as a director of several portfolio companies of the Funds.

For over thirty years, he has been a leading figure in the design and structuring of investments in the Financial Services Industry. Mr. Spass helped pioneer the use of reinsurance financing as a corporate finance tool in buyout transactions and helped design some of the first leveraged buyouts of insurance companies.

Over many years, he has developed an extensive network of contacts throughout the Financial Services industry, including with many of the industry’s most senior figures.

Mr. Spass received a B.A. in Business from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Maria Olivo is Executive Vice President, Strategic Development and President, International for Travelers. She is responsible for the company’s international businesses, including operations in Canada, the U.K. and Ireland, Travelers Syndicate at Lloyd’s and Brazil. Since joining the company in 2002, she has held a number of executive positions, including leading Corporate Development, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Before her current positions, she established and led Enterprise Research and Market Development to bring an enterprise focus to new-product initiatives. Olivo, a certified financial analyst, joined Travelers from Swiss Re Capital Partners, where she was Deputy Head of Strategic Investments. Prior to that, she was a director at Salomon Smith Barney's Investment Bank. Olivo holds a bachelor's of science degree in accounting and computer applications and information systems from New York University and an MBA in finance from its Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Eric Leathers is a Founding Partner of Further Global and serves as a member of the Investment Committee.

Prior to co-founding Further Global, Eric was a Partner at TPG Capital and led the firm’s investment efforts in the financial services sector. He has over 25 years of experience investing across the sector, including in the areas of insurance, asset management, specialty finance and depository institutions. Prior to joining TPG in 2012, Eric was a Managing Director and Partner with Pine Brook Partners, where he shared responsibility for the management of the firm’s financial services investment activities. Prior to joining Pine Brook, he was a Partner at Capital Z Financial Services Partners and was responsible for sourcing and structuring investments within the financial services industry. Eric began his career in the investment banking division of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions for financial institutions.

Eric currently serves on the board of directors of Global Benefits Group, US Claims, Coaction Specialty Insurance and AAI FG Holdco, L.P. Eric has also previously served as a director of numerous privately held and publicly traded companies. Eric is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of Business and a B.A. in History from the College of Arts and Sciences.  He is a Senior Fellow of the Harris Family Alternatives Investments Program at The Wharton School.

William is Executive Chairman of Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings. Prior to joining Randall & Quilter, he was a managing partner and co-founder of Pine Brook Partners from July 2006 to January 2020, responsible for managing Pine Brook’s financial services investing activities. He was also a member of Pine Brook’s Management and Investment Committees from July 2006 to January 2020.

William has 30 years of private equity investment experience. Prior to joining Pine Brook, he was with the Cypress Group from its inception in April 1994 until July 2006, managing its financial services and healthcare investing activities. Before joining the Cypress Group, William worked in the Merchant Banking Group at Lehman Brothers from September 1990 until April 1994. He has served on the boards of directors of over 20 companies, including eight publicly traded corporations. William is currently a member of The University of Chicago Polsky Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Advisory Board and the Private Equity Council.

William holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics, an M.A. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.