Meet Seth Gillston
Chubb Private Equity Industry Practice Leader
Meet Seth Gillston, EVP, Private Equity Industry Practice Leader
Chubb’s Private Equity Practice has been offering a holistic insurance experience for the company’s private equity clients for more than 15 years.
Seth Gillston, EVP, Private Equity Practice Leader, took some time to talk about how he became involved in this Practice and how his team works with private equity companies to close deals and deploy capital.
Lightning Round
Years in the industry: 27 years
Years with Chubb: 23 years
Hometown: Philadelphia
What he never leaves the house without: “I’m always sure to have extra cash to tip for good service.”
The best advice he ever got: "To truly try to get to know people, not on the periphery, but try to really understand how people think, what their needs are and try to listen more rather than talk."
Favorite travel destination: London
Favorite book: “Goodnight Moon. I loved reading it to my kids.”
Get to know Seth
How did you get involved with the Private Equity Industry practice?
I always intended to pursue a career in insurance. I majored in risk management in college and immediately started working in the industry. After a period of time, I found myself on the alternative risk team. Working on that particular team, we had a lot of opportunities to meet and transact with companies that were owned by private equity firms. Eventually, we said to ourselves, “We should figure out what other companies these firms own and what needs they might have.”
We founded the Private Equity Industry Practice in 2007. The Practice offered another access point to our clients, as well as another distribution network, because these firms are getting into different markets around the world.
How would you describe the Private Equity Industry Practice's approach to business?
We are incredibly focused on responding to the unique coverage needs of private equity firms. These companies are buying and investing in portfolio companies all over the world, and they’re looking to many different industries to deploy the capital that they’ve raised. At this point in time, the amount of capital in play is only increasing. And, hopefully, there’s going to be more stability with interest rates and inflation in the near future, which means that buyers and sellers can come to terms more expeditiously. Chubb’s objective is to help its clients with tailored insurance solutions as they close on these transactions, and to provide additional risk and insurance solutions to the new entities that are created by these deals.
What sets Chubb's Private Equity Practice apart?
We have a long-standing track record, a consistent approach, and we endeavor for very deep engagement with the private equity firms, their brokers, their consultants, and their portfolio companies to truly respond to their needs. The way we leverage our resources so consistently and thoroughly sets us apart. We want to be responsive, we want to be creative, and we want to be on the forefront of meeting the needs of the ever-changing private equity landscape.
