Meet Henry Chu, SVP, U.S. Commercial Management Liability Insurance
Please tell us about your career journey and your path to Sompo.
Like many others in this industry, I got my start at AIG, though at a very unsettling time, right after 9/11. I spent my first 5 years in the P&C lines, eventually ending up in Directors & Officers (D&O) in 2006 and haven’t looked back since. After the 2008 financial crisis I moved onto Chubb, where I spent a couple of years before 10+ years at AXIS, where I was able to continue to grow and expand my network living and working on both coasts. In September 2021, I had the opportunity to come to Sompo where I had the chance to work again with some of the same great people I started up with at AIG. It certainly feels like my career has come full circle.
What advice do you have for prospective Sompo candidates?
Be engaged. I think one of the many unfortunate consequences of the pandemic is how isolated and detached people became to the outside world, work included. Something I noticed quickly at Sompo was how eager everyone was to reconnect. The collaboration here comes very naturally and we place the highest value on the relationship aspect of the business. There certainly is an energy here that we all feed off of and so I would encourage any prospective candidate to come ready to bring it.
Tell us about an initiative at SI that you are most excited for in 2022.
I’m going to cheat a little and pick two, but only because I think they have similarities at its core. They are our efforts to leverage and enhance our international capabilities and our Diversity and Inclusion initiative. Both are centered around breaking down walls and connecting with those that may have very different backgrounds than us, but they provide incredible opportunities for fresh ideas and perspectives that can make us all better as a company and as individuals.
What is your idea of a perfect day outside of the office?
I’m really looking forward to some hot sunny days so I can hang out by the pool or the beach with my wife and 3 girls. This perfect day must also include picking up some of the best pizza in the world at one of the many great options we have here in Brooklyn.
About Sompo
Sompo Holdings Ltd. is a global specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, headquartered in Bermuda. Through its operating subsidiaries, Sompo writes agriculture, professional lines, property, marine, energy, casualty and other specialty lines of insurance and catastrophe, property, casualty, professional lines, weather risk and specialty lines of reinsurance. Sompo companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Sompo Holdings, Inc., whose core business encompasses one of the largest property and casualty insurance groups in the Japanese domestic market. We maintain excellent financial strength as evidenced by the ratings of A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best (XV size category) and A+ (Strong) from Standard and Poor’s on our principal operating subsidiaries. Sompo’s headquarters are located at Waterloo House, 100 Pitts Bay Road, Pembroke HM 08, Bermuda and its mailing address is Sompo, Suite No. 784, No. 48 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda.
For more information about Sompo, please visit www.sompo-intl.com.