Sandford I. Weill, the former head of Citigroup, is preparing for his third act in the insurance industry.
The Hamilton Insurance Group, the privately held firm that bought the reinsurance business of SAC Capital Advisors last month, announced on Thursday that it had hired Mr. Weill as chairman.
“Sandy Weill is an icon in the financial services sector, someone who has been at the forefront of change throughout his career,” Brian Duperreault, Hamilton’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “Under his leadership, and with our forward-thinking management team, I have no doubt that our goal of establishing a leading insurance and reinsurance business will be realized.”
A longtime Wall Street deal maker whose financial career spanned five decades, Mr. Weill could be a boon to Hamilton if it decides to pursue other acquisitions. As of last month, the company, led by Mr. Duperreault and Two Sigma Investments, had about $800 million in capitalization, according to the company’s statement.
Mr. Weill, who departed Citigroup in 2006, helped build the company into what was at one point the world’s largest bank. He was an architect of the 1998 merger between Citibank and the Travelers Group, the insurance company, and fought to repeal regulation that impeded Citigroup’s growth.
The financial crisis would later unravel much of Mr. Weill’s work, however, as the bank struggled to regain its footing in the aftermath.
SAC Capital, the hedge fund founded by the billionaire Steven A. Cohen, pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in November. In its plea deal, SAC agreed to pay a $1.2 billion penalty to federal authorities and said it would stop managing money for outside investors. Weeks later, it sold its reinsurance business, now known as Hamilton Re, for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition represented a return to the insurance business for Mr. Duperreault as well. He was most recently the chief executive of the Marsh & McLennan Companies after serving as chief executive of Ace Ltd.
“I think it is rare to have an opportunity to be involved with people who have an exemplary record in what is necessary to run a successful insurance company,” Mr. Weill said in the statement.