NAME: John C. Marchisi
NEW JOB TITLE: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based national director, special purpose acquisition company segment, financial institutions, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
PREVIOUS POSITION: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based national director, special purpose acquisition company segment, financial institutions, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: Change. I believe there is a massive need and demand for greater efficiency. Having been involved in the change to exchanges and secondary markets that were ushered in through Regulation NMS, I believe those forces will inevitably alter the insurance business. I can get long-winded on the topic, but expect desire/demand for less frictional and operational costs paired with the demand for better informed decision-making, provided through data, analytics and high-level advisory.
GOALS FOR NEW POSITION: My goals continue to be equally focused, between the efforts I have made in working with insurer underwriters over the past several years, and in the continuation of building a niche-focused SPAC practice and process. I wrote an educational SPAC white paper for this purpose in 2018. My experience and perspective with regard to SPACs is inimitable within the insurance industry, which creates and represents an opportunity which lies at the core of my goals. Over the past several years, a significant focus of my effort has been D&O underwriter advisory in an effort to translate SPAC structure and nuance, introducing and educating underwriters who are unfamiliar, while modernizing the perspective of those with past experience seeking to clarify their strategy. My goals of the SPAC practice and process itself, continue to be focused on augmenting the efforts of SPAC teams. I aim to provide SPAC operators with total transparency around their actual and potential total costs of risk.
CHALLENGES FACING THE INDUSTRY: With regard to insurance and my engagement with the SPAC vehicle, I believe we are at a critical inflection point. The driving force behind my aforementioned efforts has been the low acceptance of the SPAC among D&O insurers, which finally resulted in a catastrophic rate shift in the third quarter of this year as demand completely outstripped the available appetite and capacity. We are now at a point where I believe insurance is going to influence a great reset of the SPAC product, likely representing both a potential prohibiting factor in the consideration of launching of a SPAC, and cause for a new iteration of deal structure and economics. I am currently engaged in several projects with these challenges in mind.
FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY JOB MARKET: My first experience with a SPAC came as a result of winning an IPO listing on the American Stock Exchange in 2004. My responsibilities and engagement at that time and continuing until 2010 included SPAC market-making, trading and arbitrage, and various governance capacities in accordance with my duties as an exchange official.
ADVICE: Put in the effort where others will not, everything you seek is waiting for you on the other side of learning, but you have to be strategic and build your skillset as you would the investments in your portfolio. Be forward-looking, as your value and success will correlate accordingly. Failure is gold, collect and learn as much as you can from it, if success comes quickly or easily, you are not on the correct path.
OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY, A DREAM JOB: I miss trading and the capital markets, but the factors that influenced my shift and led me to this industry are something I am grateful for and would not second-guess.
COLLEGE MAJOR: Finance
LOOKING FORWARD TO: Ive always enjoyed being involved in deal-making, and I am finding the work I do with insurers to be very fulfilling. There is a great feeling that comes along with knowing that your strategy or perspective resulted in something that provides a needed benefit and help to people and industry. I look forward to contributing to the success of our clients and colleagues.
FAVOURITE MEAL: Any chicken, as long as it tastes like a prime, dry-aged, New York strip or smoked BBQ brisket.
BOOK: Would have to mention a few, including Adrift 76 Days Lost at Sea, The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex and Rubicon.
HOBBIES: Boating and fishing, something that has been a part of my life since I was a child and which I now share with my children currently exploring scratching our itch to buy an RV.
TV SHOW: Lost, hands down.
ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON: I take advantage to unplug and spend time with my wife and children. We have young children who are entering into a really fun time so we do a lot of outdoor activities, boating, fishing, hiking and camping.
