Howden Re Bolsters Cyber Capabilities with Appointment of Harriet Gruen, Head of Threat Intelligence, Education & Training

Harriet Gruen joins Howden Re as Head of Threat Intelligence, Education & Training
with eight years of cyber industry experience, the four most recent of which were at global insurers. As a Senior Cyber Risk Advisor at AXIS Capital in London she helped list the first 144A cyber catastrophe bond and led investor education on cyber risk. Previously, she was a cyber risk specialist at Tokio Marine Holdings, designing cyber scenarios and delivering technical training. Gruen also worked at both HSBC and Digital Shadows in London in the Strategic Security Threat and Cyber Threat teams, respectively, and in the Department of the Australian Prime Minister. She has MSc from London school of Economics.

The Cyber Reinsurance team at Howden Re has undergone a period of rapid growth as the demand for cyber reinsurance services only continues to increase in today’s enhanced risk landscape. Howden Re advocates for the recalibration of cyber risk appetite informed by better data, improved interpretation of that data, and a more refined approach to modelling. The new Threat Intelligence function is fundamental to that approach, in particular to developing scenarios bespoke to clients, and keeping carriers appraised as cyber cat events unfold. Ultimately, this helps clients take a more nuanced approach to purchasing the most efficient reinsurance in light of their own risk tolerance and the features distinct to their own cyber portfolios. It is Howden Re’s opinion that cyber carriers will take an increasingly cat-focused approach to reinsurance and retro buying, which is one of the fields in which the Cyber team has considerable expertise and experience.

Luke Foord-Kelcey, Global Head of Cyber, Howden Re, commented: “With estimates of the Cyber insurance market growing to in excess of $40bn by 2030, there is significant recalibration needed to realise the market’s potential. Howden Re is at the forefront of this rapidly evolving market, notably through our approach to helping carriers better understand their own exposure and tolerance for this risk, and the members of the team pioneering the Cyber event market over the last eight years. We’re delighted to welcome Harriet to the team, having closely followed her formidable work with major cyber portfolios. Harriet’s expertise will further our commitment to guiding clients through an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape to help them realise the massive growth potential in this class.”

Harriet Gruen, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence, Howden Re, commented: “I am excited to be joining the experienced, market-leading Cyber team at Howden Re. It is an incredible opportunity to build threat intelligence products to support our clients’ view of cyber risk, particularly around systemic exposure. Howden Re’s focus on innovation will provide the foundation for developing threat and research insights to guide bespoke cyber scenarios and analyse systemic dependencies. The recent global IT outage provides an example of these interdependencies, with many lessons learned around response and recovery which can inform cyber modelling assumptions.”