Wolyniec returns with Pelican-backed MGA platform Tango Specialty

Former Ascot US president and CEO Greg Wolyniec has re-emerged in the market at the helm of a new MGA platform called Tango Specialty, backed by Jim Stanard and Rod Fox-founded Pelican Ventures, having bought specialty program administrator V3 Insurance Partners as part of its launch.

Tango Specialty is described as a modern commercial lines MGA platform focused on building “new expert underwriting programs” supported by insurance capacity partnerships to serve the “complex needs” of specialty market clients and brokers.

It will look to establish “several sizeable programs” with leading underwriting expertise, said the new firm in a statement.

It is led by Wolyniec as president and CEO, with Pelican Ventures chairman Bob Deutsch taking the same role at the new MGA platform.

Standard along with Pelican Ventures managing directors Allan Cohen and Win Hotchkiss have also joined the Tango Specialty board.

Commenting on the launch, Wolyniec said: “I am incredibly excited to partner with such a deeply respected and experienced industry leadership team in launching Tango.

“We will build our business and reputation based on leading technical underwriting acumen, synchronised partnerships with clients, brokers and capacity partners, and an entrepreneurial, decisive organisational culture.”

The launch sees the new vehicle acquire existing MGA V3 Insurance Partners, which was established in 2009 by former RenaissanceRe chairman and CEO Stanard and TigerRisk CEO Fox.

V3 will continue to operate its existing underwriting divisions and will act as a turn-key shared services operating platform supporting the new underwriting units to be launched under the broader Tango brand.

It focuses on workers’ compensation and commercial property and was led by Susan Rivera until she left in 2018 to take the COO role at Tokio Marine HCC, where she is now CEO.

Pelican Ventures is the investment firm founded by Fox and Stanard with former Executive Risk, Ironshore and Hamilton executive Deutsch as its chairman.

The private equity firm teamed up with JC Flowers last year to buy Ariel Re from Argo Group.

TigerRisk president Rob Bredahl is listed as an investor in Pelican Ventures along with former RenaissanceRe and AQR Re executive John Lummis.

Former AIG executive Wolyniec was most recently president and CEO of Ascot US, which he left last summer with the arrival of Jonathan Zaffino.

Wolyniec was credited with the build-out of Ascot’s dual carrier platform in the US alongside MGA platform Ethos Specialty after joining the company initially as group head of strategy in 2017.

At AIG he held several senior roles including leading the strategy, innovation and M&A functions for the commercial insurance business.

Following his departure from Ascot he was linked with former Navigators CEO Stan Galanski’s G58 Capital initiative, which has been linked with an E&S hybrid carrier and MGA platform start-up targeting the E&S space.