Centre for Disaster Protection adds World Bank ILS expertise

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The UK-funded Centre for Disaster Protection has announced a number of new additions to its team, with an experienced disaster risk financing expert joining it from her most recent role at the World Bank, where she had worked on catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) arrangements.

The Centre for Disaster Protection was launched in 2017 with backing from the UK Government, as a centre of expertise for preparation and response to disasters, including a focus on disaster risk and crisis financing.

The Centre has a mandate to help enhance resilience of developing countries through contributing expertise and ideas to encourage better preparedness and planning, backed by risk-based financing arrangements.

One of the new team members joining is Cristina Stefan, who joins from her most recent role at the World Bank, where she worked on disaster and pandemic or outbreak risk financing.

Stefan began her career in insurance and reinsurance, working as an actuary at BNP Paribas, then as a life and health actuary at Allianz, followed by a stint at Vienna Insurance Group as Head of the Life and Health Actuarial Group.

Stefan then worked at epidemic and pandemic risk modelling specialist Metabiota for more than two years, before joining the World Bank as a Disaster Risk Finance Specialist.

She has also contributed to infectious disease modelling work at the African Risk Capacity (ARC) and consulted for the Centre for Disaster Protection before.

During her career, Stefan has worked on innovative risk transfer and capital market risk transfer, across structures ranging from parametric insurance, to catastrophe bonds and other insurance-linked securities (ILS).

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Her focus has always been on developing risk management solutions that target closing the financing gap for disaster response, across natural disasters and pandemics or outbreaks.

At the Centre for Disaster Protection, Stefan takes on the role of Lead Risk Finance Adviser, which will see her leading on the design of innovative disaster and crisis risk transfer and financing instruments.

Also joining the Centre are Theodore Talbot, also previously from the World Bank and taking on the role of Chief Economist & Associate Director for Sustainable Finance. Omaira Choudhry is a specialist in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning and Jessica Texter is a Projects and Communications Officer.

Daniel Clarke, Director for the Centre for Disaster Protection, commented, “We’re delighted to welcome these three exceptional people to our team. With around 30 years of experience between them, the variety of skills and knowledge they bring will inform and really enhance the work we’re doing to change how the world prepares and pays for disasters.”

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