Our Team

Andrew Bernstein
Chief Executive Officer and
Head of Portfolio Management

Andrew Bernstein is a Partner and serves as Chief Executive Officer and Head of Portfolio Management of Aeolus. Mr. Bernstein also serves as a member of the Aeolus Board of Directors and is a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. In his role as Head of Portfolio Management, Mr. Bernstein formulates and oversees Aeolus’ underwriting strategy and supervises the portfolio construction process. He also works closely with the other members of the Portfolio and Analytics teams in structuring and pricing Aeolus’ reinsurance and retrocession transactions. Mr. Bernstein has over 20 years of (re)insurance experience. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2007, Mr. Bernstein was Senior Vice President of Specialty Lines at Benfield, a leading reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor. His role at Benfield involved technical consultation with the firm’s clientele, with a special focus on actuarial and quantitative analysis for casualty and professional liability business. Prior to that, he served in various actuarial roles at AIG, Zurich Re, and Quanta. Mr. Bernstein holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Binghamton University and became a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society in 2002.

Aditya Dutt
President

Aditya Dutt is a Partner and serves as President of Aeolus. Prior to joining Aeolus, Mr. Dutt served on the management team of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based reinsurance company, from 2008 to 2020. Prior to joining RenaissanceRe, Mr. Dutt worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers from 1997 to 2008. He has served as a Director of Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. and currently serves as a Director of Aeolus, Essent Group Holdings (NYSE: ESNT) and Prismic Life Reinsurance Ltd.

Mr. Dutt holds a BA in Mathematics from Dartmouth College.

Frank Fischer
Chief Analytics Officer

Frank Fischer is a Partner and serves as Chief Analytics Officer of Aeolus. Mr. Fischer also serves as a member of the Aeolus Board of Directors and a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. Mr. Fischer also Chairs the IT, ESG and Valuation Committees.  Mr. Fischer is responsible for overseeing Aeolus’ analytics platform and has day-to-day responsibility for all investment-related and non-investment analytical workflow. Further responsibilities include technical risk evaluation, portfolio management and optimization. He has over 20 years of (re)insurance industry experience. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2006, he managed the U.S. insurance client base at AIR Worldwide Corporation (“AIR”), a catastrophe modeling software and consulting services provider between 2001 to 2006. During his time at AIR, Mr. Fischer led client portfolio optimization efforts and performed on-site post disaster surveys, including Hurricane Katrina, and was recognized as an expert in catastrophe model development and software tools. Mr. Fischer began his career at The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company from 1997 to 2001, where he completed the firm’s Executive Development Program and focused on developing quantitative risk analysis tools for major industrial facilities. Mr. Fischer holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the Honors College at SUNY Stony Brook where he graduated magna cum laude.

Nicholas Jagoda
Portfolio Manager

Nicholas Jagoda is a Partner and serves as a Portfolio Manager of Aeolus. Mr. Jagoda is also a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. Mr. Jagoda’s primary responsibilities include structuring and pricing retrocession and reinsurance transactions, risk sourcing, portfolio management and cedant relations. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2020, he served as a Partner and Portfolio Manager of Elementum Advisors, LLC, having been part of the original team that launched Elementum in 2009. His primary responsibilities included implementation and execution of the firm’s reinsurance and insurance strategies. Additionally, Mr. Jagoda played a key role in launching Elementum’s Bermuda platform in 2011 where he had responsibility in both building and leading a team of underwriting and operations professionals. Mr. Jagoda began his career within the (re)insurance and investment management industries at Stark Investments in 2006 as a member of the reinsurance and risk-linked securities team. Mr. Jagoda holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Loyola University Chicago where he graduated magna cum laude. Mr. Jagoda is a charterholder and member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute.

Jason McAlpine
Chief Operating Officer and
Chief Financial Officer

Jason McAlpine is a Partner and serves as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Aeolus. Mr. McAlpine is a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. Mr. McAlpine is also a member of Aeolus’  Valuation, Compliance and IT Committees. He has responsibility for overseeing Aeolus’ Finance, Investments, Treasury, Operations, IT and Human Resource functions. Mr. McAlpine has over 20 years of experience in the (re)insurance industry.  Prior to joining Aeolus in 2012, Mr. McAlpine was a Partner in the BBC Sub Area of Ernst & Young’s Financial Services Office. Mr. McAlpine spent over 14 years with Ernst & Young, the last 11 years of which were focused on serving both (re)insurance and asset management clients. In addition, during the last four years of his tenure with Ernst & Young, he was the Partner with responsibility for Ernst & Young’s audits of Aeolus’ financial statements. During his tenure with Ernst & Young, he dedicated a significant amount of his efforts to the Insurance Linked Asset (“ILA”)/Convergence market and served as a subject matter expert in this area for Ernst Young. He has extensive experience in providing accounting, audit and advisory services to all forms of products in this space, including but not limited to Insurance Linked Securities (ILA Funds, transformers, side cars and segregated account platforms). Mr. McAlpine also has in depth knowledge of US GAAP and IFRS, SEC and SOX 404 requirements, as well as Bermuda regulatory matters. Mr. McAlpine holds an Honors Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in accounting from the University of Ottawa. Mr. McAlpine is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and is a member of CPA Bermuda and CPA Ontario, Canada.

Daina Casling
General Counsel and
Chief Compliance Officer

Daina Casling is a Partner and serves as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Aeolus. Ms. Casling is also a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. Ms. Casling also chairs Aeolus’ Compliance Committee and is a member of the ESG and Valuation Committees. She is responsible for overseeing Aeolus’ legal and compliance functions. Ms. Casling has over 15 years of experience in the (re)insurance industry.  Prior to joining Aeolus in 2018, Ms. Casling was Vice President and Legal Counsel at RenaissanceRe Ltd., a Bermuda-based reinsurance company where she served in a number of roles from 2006 to 2017. Her primary responsibilities included advising on reinsurance contract wording, complex claims, compliance policies and initiatives and, most recently, as primary counsel to RenaissanceRe’s Insurance Linked Securities team. Prior to that, she was an associate at Conyers Dill & Pearman where she practiced in the areas of litigation and reinsurance arbitration between 2004 and 2006. Ms. Casling completed her legal training at the (re)insurance firm Kendall Freeman in London from 2002 to 2004 during which time she was seconded to the legal department of Shell International. Ms. Casling holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Holy Cross College and a Bachelor of Law with Honors from City University.

Andrew Bernstein
Chief Executive Officer and
Head of Portfolio Management

Andrew Bernstein is a Partner and serves as Chief Executive Officer and Head of Portfolio Management of Aeolus. Mr. Bernstein also serves as a member of the Aeolus Board of Directors and is a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. In his role as Head of Portfolio Management, Mr. Bernstein formulates and oversees Aeolus’ underwriting strategy and supervises the portfolio construction process. He also works closely with the other members of the Portfolio and Analytics teams in structuring and pricing Aeolus’ reinsurance and retrocession transactions. Mr. Bernstein has over 20 years of (re)insurance experience. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2007, Mr. Bernstein was Senior Vice President of Specialty Lines at Benfield, a leading reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor. His role at Benfield involved technical consultation with the firm’s clientele, with a special focus on actuarial and quantitative analysis for casualty and professional liability business. Prior to that, he served in various actuarial roles at AIG, Zurich Re, and Quanta. Mr. Bernstein holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Binghamton University and became a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society in 2002.

Henry Kingham
Portfolio Manager

Henry Kingham is a Partner and serves as a Portfolio Manager of Aeolus.  Mr. Kingham is also a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. Mr. Kingham’s primary responsibilities include structuring and pricing Aeolus’ retrocession and reinsurance transactions, ILW trading, risk sourcing, portfolio management and cedant relations. Mr. Kingham has over 20 years of experience in the (re)insurance industry. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2017, he served as an Executive Vice President of Willis Re, a leading reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor, from 2006 to 2017, initially in London and subsequently in Bermuda. His role at Willis Re involved the structuring and placement of reinsurance in various forms (traditional, collateralized and securitized). Previously, Mr. Kingham served in various roles at Benfield Advisory, now operating as Aon Benfield Securities, Heath Lambert plc. and Cameron, Richard & Smith from 2001 to 2006. Mr. Kingham holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Combined Social Sciences from Durham University.

Nicholas Jagoda
Portfolio Manager

Nicholas Jagoda is a Partner and serves as a Portfolio Manager of Aeolus. Mr. Jagoda is also a member of the Operating Committee, the body charged with the day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of Aeolus. Mr. Jagoda’s primary responsibilities include structuring and pricing retrocession and reinsurance transactions, risk sourcing, portfolio management and cedant relations. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2020, he served as a Partner and Portfolio Manager of Elementum Advisors, LLC, having been part of the original team that launched Elementum in 2009. His primary responsibilities included implementation and execution of the firm’s reinsurance and insurance strategies. Additionally, Mr. Jagoda played a key role in launching Elementum’s Bermuda platform in 2011 where he had responsibility in both building and leading a team of underwriting and operations professionals. Mr. Jagoda began his career within the (re)insurance and investment management industries at Stark Investments in 2006 as a member of the reinsurance and risk-linked securities team. Mr. Jagoda holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Loyola University Chicago where he graduated magna cum laude. Mr. Jagoda is a charterholder and member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute.

Kevin Han
Portfolio Manager – Cat Bonds

Kevin Han serves as a Portfolio Manager of Aeolus. His primary responsibilities include the management of Aeolus’ cat bond strategy, developing and maintaining its analytics platform, overseeing day-to-day operations, and sourcing risk. Prior to joining Aeolus, Mr. Han worked at RenaissanceRe Ltd., a multi-line reinsurance company based in Bermuda, from 2016 to 2023. Most recently, he led the analytics team supporting its catastrophe bond fund in New York. The team was accountable for the fund’s risk and portfolio management systems, providing trade and portfolio management recommendations, risk reporting, and the daily operations of the fund. Mr. Han graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics.

Kerri Harkins
Assistant General Counsel – Underwriting

Kerri Harkins serves as Assistant General Counsel, Underwriting of Aeolus. Mrs. Harkins is also a member of Aeolus’ Compliance Committee. Her primary responsibilities include advising the Portfolio Management Team, reviewing reinsurance contract and protection contract clauses, overseeing collateralized trust agreement documentation and drafting quota share agreements. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2017, Mrs. Harkins was Vice President and Legal Counsel at RenaissanceRe Ltd., a Bermuda-based reinsurance company, where she served in a number of roles from 2008 to 2017. Previously, Mrs. Harkins was an associate with Cox Hallett Wilkinson from 2003 to 2007. Mrs. Harkins was called to the Bar in Bermuda in 2004 and the Bar in England and Wales in 2003 (not now practicing). She completed the Bar Vocational Course at BPP Law School in 2003 and holds a Bachelor of Law from University of Kent and a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Aviation Management from Florida Institute of Technology.

William Thuell
Assistant Vice President – Underwriting

William Thuell serves as Assistant Vice President, Underwriting of Aeolus. His primary responsibilities include risk sourcing, cedant relations, underwriting and portfolio management. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2024, Mr. Thuell was an underwriter at SIG Re Ltd. in Bermuda. During his time at SIG Re, his primary responsibilities included new business origination and underwriting collateralized contingency reinsurance. Prior to SIG Re Mr. Thuell spent nearly five years at Elementum Advisors, LLC, where his primary responsibilities consisted of cedant and broker relations, underwriting collateralized and fronted reinsurance, and portfolio management. Mr. Thuell holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance & Economics from Syracuse University.

Matthew Amaral
Analyst – Underwriting

Matthew Amaral serves as Analyst, Underwriting of Aeolus. His primary responsibilities include risk sourcing, cedant relations, underwriting, pricing and portfolio management. Mr. Amaral joined Aeolus in 2021 through our one-year graduate internship program. He subsequently transitioned to a full-time role as a Finance & Trust Analyst where he was responsible for the administration of the ILW portfolio, the collateral reconciliation and release process, and the contract commutation process. In 2023, Mr. Amaral was seconded to the Underwriting team, providing crucial support during the January 2024 renewal period and was subsequently promoted to Analyst, Underwriting in April 2024. Mr. Amaral holds an Associate in International Business from Niagara College, Canada and completed his Associate in Reinsurance (ARe™) designation in January 2024.

Aditya Dutt
President

Aditya Dutt is a Partner and serves as President of Aeolus. Prior to joining Aeolus, Mr. Dutt served on the management team of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based reinsurance company, from 2008 to 2020. Prior to joining RenaissanceRe, Mr. Dutt worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers from 1997 to 2008. He has served as a Director of Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. and currently serves as a Director of Aeolus, Essent Group Holdings (NYSE: ESNT) and Prismic Life Reinsurance Ltd.

Mr. Dutt holds a BA in Mathematics from Dartmouth College.

Benjamin Somers
Managing Director of Business Development & Investor Relations

Benjamin Somers serves as Managing Director of Business Development & Investor Relations of Aeolus. He has responsibility for developing relationships with institutional investors globally and assisting in the servicing of our existing investors. He also plays an important role in developing new business opportunities. Prior to joining Aeolus, Mr. Somers was a Partner and Head of Business Development & Investor Relations at Elementum Advisors, LLC (“Elementum”). During his tenure, he managed Elementum’s business development team, directed capital formation and investor relations, and was a member of Elementum’s senior leadership team. Prior to Elementum, Mr. Somers was a Director on the Emerging Markets team at Stark Investments where he launched their capital raising, investor relations and overall business development strategy for their Latin American business. Before that, he worked in the asset management and corporate banking departments of JPMorgan and its predecessor firms. Mr. Somers holds a B.S. in Finance and International Business from Marquette University.

Maya Henry
Managing Director of Business Development & Investor Relations

Maya Henry serves as Managing Director of Business Development & Investor Relations of Aeolus. She has responsibility for developing relationships with institutional investors in North America and assisting in the servicing of our existing investors. Prior to joining Aeolus, Ms. Henry worked as a Principal at Blackstone Multi-Asset Investing (BXMA), where she was a member of Institutional Client Solutions. Prior to Blackstone, she worked as a Senior Vice President at PIMCO in Institutional Client Management, with a focus on U.S. corporate pensions. Prior to that, she was a credit strategist for Morgan Stanley, covering U.S. corporate credit, and a Manager in Deloitte & Touche’s regulatory and capital markets consulting practice covering investment management clients. Ms. Henry received a B.S. in Finance with honors from the NYU Stern School of Business and an M.B.A. in Finance and Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is a CFA charterholder.

Amit Patel
Managing Director of Business Development & Investor Relations

Amit Patel serves as Managing Director of Business Development & Investor Relations of Aeolus.  His primary responsibilities include serving as a technical resource to Aeolus’ existing and prospective clientele in interpreting portfolio positioning and portfolio risk exposures. As a member of the Business Development and Investor Relations team, Mr. Patel plays an active role in Aeolus’ ongoing capital raising efforts.  Prior to joining Aeolus in 2021, Mr. Patel held the role of Senior Vice President at Aksia LLC, a specialist research and portfolio advisory firm providing alternative investment solutions to institutional investors. During his time at Aksia, between 2010 and 2020, his primary responsibilities included evaluating (re)insurance and quantitative strategies, supporting Aksia’s clients in a portfolio advisory capacity and working with institutional investors on portfolio construction decisions. Mr. Patel started his career with PwC in the United States, where he served in the position of Advisory Associate in the Consumer Finance Group between 2009 and 2010.  Mr. Patel holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. Mr. Patel is also a charterholder and a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute.

Steven Wells
Marketing & Client Service Manager

Steven Wells serves as Marketing and Client Services Manager of Aeolus. His primary responsibilities include investor marketing and client servicing, for both existing and prospective investors in Aeolus’ funds. Mr. Wells has over 20 years of experience in the institutional investment management industry. Prior to joining Aeolus in 2015, Mr. Wells was based in London and served as the Senior Marketing Planning Manager at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), the U.K.’s largest manager of domestic pension assets. During his time with LGIM, between 2012-2015, his primary responsibilities included the development and delivery of all marketing campaigns and heading up the Market Research function, delivering regular market intelligence and competitor analysis. Previously, Mr. Wells held the position of Senior Marketing Executive at GAM Investments from 2005 to 2012, where he was responsible for developing and implementing the global marketing strategy for the firm’s institutional investor business. Prior to GAM Investments, Mr. Wells served as a Marketing Manager at Fidelity International, from 1998 to 2005, where he worked on various aspects of the firm’s business development function, including RFP preparation and submission, maintenance of consultant relationships and institutional investor servicing. Mr. Wells started his career with Save & Prosper, where he served in an investment support role from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Wells holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Economics and Politics from Loughborough University.  He is also a holder of the Investment Management Certificate (IMC).