Specialty Insurance Company to Invest in Diversified Portfolio of Niche Insurance Products
DALLAS, January 25, 2021—Upland Capital Group (“Upland” or the “Company”) today announced the formation of a specialty insurance business led by long-time insurance and investment executives. Upland plans to offer a diversified portfolio of excess and surplus lines (“E&S”) casualty, property, and specialty insurance products, with an initial focus on excess casualty products distributed through select wholesale brokers. Upland is funded through an equity investment of up to $200 million from Newlight Partners LP (“Newlight”), a growth equity investor, and an additional investment from the Company’s executive management team.
Upland has built a best-in-class team comprised of seasoned underwriters and functional experts with an entrepreneurial spirit and healthy respect for teamwork. Embedded in the Company’s core values is a deep focus on transparency, efficiency, and excellent customer service.
The initial capital raise will fund the Company’s immediate build-out and organic growth plans.
Upland’s executive leadership team includes:
- Todd C. Hart, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer: Mr. Hart has spent more than three decades in financial services, serving most recently as the CEO of Rhode Island-based Narraganset Bay Insurance Company.
- James A. Damonte, President of Insurance Operations and Chief Underwriting Officer: Mr. Damonte is a 20-year veteran specialty insurance underwriter and has spent the bulk of his career in executive leadership roles at Hallmark Financial Services and several other companies.
- Mark J. Morrison, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: Mr. Morrison brings over thirty-five years of industry experience, including fourteen years as the President & Chief Executive Officer of specialty insurance carriers Hallmark Financial Services and Associates Insurance Company.
- Pamela Byron-Button, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer: Ms. Byron-Button is 30-year insurance industry veteran and most recently served as the Vice President of Service Operations at Narragansett Bay Insurance Company.
“From top to bottom, we have assembled a highly experienced, accomplished team of talented executives at Upland Capital Group,” said Mr. Hart. “Key to success is that our core executive group have all worked together, developed relationships built on trust and mutual respect and bring complementary skill sets. We intend to build a company based on our core values of culture, service and support, combined with modern problem-solving to provide solutions to our customer’s specialty insurance needs and requirements.”
“We are excited to be partnering with the accomplished Upland executive team on this exciting new venture,” said Srdjan Vukovic, a Partner at Newlight. “Having worked closely with Todd Hart on numerous other ventures over the past 15 years, we have seen firsthand his integrity and commitment to operational excellence. The Upland team brings substantial experience in building profitable insurance platforms and shares our values and philosophy of building sound, sustainable businesses. We are confident that Upland will be well positioned to become a best-in-class specialty insurance company and partner to its customers well into the future.”
About Upland Capital Group
Upland Capital Group is an E&S casualty, property, and specialty insurance provider that was founded in 2020. Based in Dallas, Texas, Upland Capital is focused on becoming the most nimble, disciplined and profitable specialty insurer by building a great company where “we entrepreneurs” can master their underwriting craft. Upland Capital is funded with over a $200 million of equity line by Newlight Partners and executive management.
For more information, please visit www.uplandcapgroup.com.
About Newlight Partners LP
Newlight Partners LP is a growth equity firm focused on building businesses in partnership with founders and exceptional management teams. For more than 15 years, the Newlight team has helped build successful enterprises in five sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, power & infrastructure, healthcare and business services. Led by David Wassong and Ravi Yadav, the Newlight team has invested approximately $6 billion in over 100 investments since 2005, first as the Strategic Investments Group at Soros Fund Management LLC (Soros), and now as Newlight after the team's spin out from Soros in 2018. Newlight has approximately $4 billion in capital commitments and assets under management.
Contact:
For Upland: David Nesmith -- David@theeleven.group -- (917) 402-3438
For Newlight Partners: Jonathan Gasthalter/Nathaniel Garnick -- Gasthalter & Co. -- (212) 257-4170