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Bermuda (Re)insurers Announce $3.5 Million Donation to the Bermuda College Foundation

October 12, 2020
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Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) (NYSE: ATH) and its reinsurance subsidiary, Athene Life Re. Ltd.(ALRe), in addition to Athora Holding Ltd., Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited and Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. announced a $3.5 million donation to the Bermuda College Foundation to create a Career Development Centre. Once established, the Centre and its programmes will help to enhance the Bermuda economy through increased access to workforce development and training, prometric certified assessment required for professional development and an expanded technology infrastructure that allows for research and development of innovative concepts. 

“This is an historic investment for Bermuda College and speaks volumes to the confidence the corporate community places in Bermuda’s students, in our local community and in the Island’s future,” said Dr. Duranda Greene, Bermuda College president. “Students and users of the Centre will be immersed in vital business trends, such as Fintech, the Internet of Things (IoT), machine-learning activities and more, using cutting-edge technology. We are deeply grateful for the largesse of our donors; and are especially indebted to the remarkable work of the Bermuda College Foundation on behalf of the College and its students.”

The Career Development Centre will be open to Bermuda College students, faculty, staff and the community for a variety of purposes including testing and training services. It has the capacity to impact nearly 2,500 individuals per year through its programmes.

“Athene and our insurance colleagues in Bermuda are fully invested in doing all we can to bolster our economy and help Bermuda’s young people reach their full potential,” said Bill Wheeler, President of Athene Holding Ltd. “Athene’s donation to support the creation of the Career Development Centre builds on our deep commitment to education-based initiatives that are designed to help close educational gaps in our communities. The Centre will be an excellent resource for students and residents, and we are excited to watch it foster excellent ideas and grow exceptional talent for many years to come.”

“The realization of the Career Development Centre is a major accomplishment for the Bermuda College Foundation, achieved by efforts of many, and is in harmony with Athora’s commitment to caring about the local communities in which we operate,” said Amy Ponnampalam CEO of Athora Life Re Ltd.  “We are delighted that Bermuda College is gaining a contemporary space that allows it to further its mission to provide the community with innovative programmes, training, support services and access to partnerships that lead to local and global success.”  

Strategic partnerships between the business community, residents and Bermuda College are key to sustaining Bermuda’s position as a global leader in the reinsurance industry.

“The Foundation Board is extremely grateful for this tremendous major gift which will help the Foundation fulfil its overall vision towards a state-of-the-art Bermuda College,” stated Bermuda College Foundation Deputy Chairman, Garry Madeiros. “The philanthropic partnership with Athene, Athora, Aspen and Catalina underscores the mission of the Foundation and the importance of ensuring the island’s only community college remains sustainable and able to meet the needs of our future workforce. Corporate and private donors are encouraged to donate to the Bermuda College Foundation as an investment in our College, our Bermuda, our future.”

Construction on the building is expected to begin in early 2021 and is targeted for completion before the start of the Fall 2021 semester.

 

About Athene Holding Ltd.
Athene, through its subsidiaries, is a leading retirement services company that issues, reinsures and acquires retirement savings products designed for the increasing number of individuals and institutions seeking to fund retirement needs. The products offered by Athene include:

  • Retail fixed, fixed indexed and index-linked annuity products;
  • Reinsurance arrangements with third-party annuity providers; and
  • Institutional products, such as funding agreements and the assumption of pension risk transfer obligations.

Athene had total assets of $183.2 billion as of June 30, 2020. Athene’s principal subsidiaries include Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company, a Delaware-domiciled insurance company, Athene Annuity and Life Company, an Iowa-domiciled insurance company, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, a New York-domiciled insurance company and Athene Life Re Ltd., a Bermuda-domiciled reinsurer. Further information about our companies can be found at athene.com.
 

About Athora Holding Ltd.
Athora is a specialised insurance and reinsurance group fully focused on the European market. Athora dedicates its focus, capital, time and technical insights to offering its customers a stable, long-term performance on its products. Athora's principal subsidiaries are VIVAT N.V. (Amstelveen, Netherlands), Athora Belgium N.V./S.A. (Brussels), Athora Lebensversicherung AG (Wiesbaden, Germany), Athora Ireland plc (Dublin) and Athora Life Re Ltd. (Bermuda). The Athora group employs some 2,400 staff and has approximately 3 million policyholders for total consolidated assets of approximately €70 billion. For further information, go to: www.athora.com.
 

About Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited
Aspen provides reinsurance and insurance coverage to clients in various domestic and global markets through wholly-owned subsidiaries and offices in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the year ended December 31, 2019, Aspen reported $12.6 billion in total assets, $7.0 billion in gross reserves, $2.7 billion in total shareholders’ equity and $3.4 billion in gross written premiums. Aspen's operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of “A-” by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, an “A” (“Excellent”) by A.M. Best Company Inc. and an “A3” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. For more information about Aspen, please visit www.aspen.co.

 

About Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd.
Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd (“Catalina”) is a long-term consolidator in the non-life insurance/reinsurance run-off sector. Catalina was established in 2005 to focus solely on the acquisition and management of non-life insurance/reinsurance companies in run-off. Since its foundation, Catalina has acquired or reinsured $9bn of non-life insurance and reinsurance liabilities. Catalina has received approvals from Bermudian, Irish, Malaysian, Singaporean, Swiss, UK (PRA and FCA) and various US state insurance regulators for prior acquisitions and reinsurance transactions. Catalina operates from 11 global offices situated across the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, United Kingdom and Switzerland. For further details about Catalina’s acquisitions or its management team please refer to www.catalinare.com.
 

About Bermuda College

Bermuda College was re-accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) in 2015. It provides the local community with a variety of academic, technical and professional programmes in four Divisions: Arts & Science; Business Administration, Hospitality & Technical Education; Nursing & Allied Health; and Professional and Career Education, leading to associate degrees, diplomas or certificates. Its partnerships with external institutions and agencies provide on-Island access to undergraduate degrees and professional credentials. Bermuda College embraces the community college philosophy and is dedicated to offering quality instruction, innovative education and unparalleled student support for academic and professional excellence.

 

About Bermuda College Foundation

Bermuda College Foundation is a Bermuda registered charity, #341. It was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in October 2018 with the sole focus of cultivating and securing successful philanthropic partnerships in support of Bermuda College. As the fund raising vehicle for the College it is the bridge between the community and the College. For further details about the Foundation, please visit www.bermudacollegefoundation.org.