Wakam has received full branch authorization to operate in the UK and has appointed Mark Christer as Branch Manager

Wakam has been granted full branch authorization by the PRA to operate in the UK
effective October 24th. The B2B2C insurer bolsters its UK presence by appointing Mark
Christer as UK Branch Manager, along with several key executives.

Mark Christer has just been appointed UK Branch Manager at Wakam, the leading B2B2C
insurer in Europe. Mark brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience from prominent
firms such as RSA and South British Capital. He will oversee the UK operations of the insurer,
which achieved its full branch authorization to operate in the UK on October 24th.

Wakam is also reinforcing its UK presence through the strategic hiring of experienced C-level
executives. They will contribute to the continued growth and success of the company, who
provides bepoke and embedded insurance solutions to various UK MGAs and large insurtechs.
Baqur Hossain is appointed Chief Financial Officer of Wakam, Paul Jameson as Chief Risk
Officer, and Vicky Gardner as People Partner, all reporting to Mark Christer.

Serge Corel remains as Head of Partnerships.

Commenting on the PRA´s approval, Catherine Charrier-Leflaive, CEO of Wakam, expressed:
“The UK insurance market offers thrilling opportunities for Wakam and I am truly pleased by the
recent authorization of our Branch. With Mark’s leadership of our UK team, I am confident in our
ability to provide robust capacity and innovative solutions to our valued partners.”

Mark Christer expressed his enthusiasm: “It’s an exciting time to lead Wakam’s unique B2B2C
model in the UK. These appointments reflect our deep commitment to establishing a robust
and profitable presence in this market over the long term.”

Mark Christer, UK Branch Manager

Mark Christer is leading the insurer’s UK operations, and as such he is managing the functions
of Risk Management, Internal Audit, Actuarial, Operations, Underwriting, Partnerships,
Delegated Authority & Claims and Finance. He is based in London.
He has over twenty years of experience in the insurance industry, including over ten years in
international markets. In 2017, he became CEO of South British Capital, an international
insurer operating in surety and credit reinsurance, and of its UK-based MGA Franchiseefirst,
specializing in the European surety market.
Prior to this, he held a number of senior management positions, including Managing Director
of Personal Lines at RSA in the UK, where he achieved a significant turnaround in profits.
Baqur Hossain, Chief Financial Officer
With over 20 years of experience across America, Ireland and the UK, Baqur Hossain assumes
the role of Chief Financial Officer at Wakam UK and will bring a wealth of insurance experience
facilitating organizational growth.
Leveraging his extensive experience gained in public and private equity backed insurance
organizations (like AIG, KPMG or recently at Accelerant), Baqur’s financial acumen will
undoubtedly prove invaluable to the development of Wakam’s UK business.

Paul Jameson, Chief Risk Officer

Paul Jameson is an experienced UK Chief Risk Officer having held similar roles at Great Lakes,
(backed by Munich Re), and at Legal & General Insurance. Paul has led the Great Lakes
business to obtain UK regulatory approval following Brexit and delivered the acquisition and
integration of L&G into the Allianz UK group.
Paul is an Actuary who specialized in Solvency II and Internal Models prior to moving into the
Risk Management function. He has also worked at several UK personal lines businesses
including Lloyds Banking Group, NFU Mutual, Co-Op Insurance and Willis Towers Watson.

Vicky Gardner, People Partner

The expansion of Wakam’s team in the UK also includes the appointment of Vicky Gardner as
People Partner.
Previously HR Manager at Feefo and more recently Head of HR and Operations at Codit, Vicky
Gardner is an experienced HR leader and a Chartered Member of the CIPD, with over 15 years’
experience in supporting organizations across the UK, EMEA, Canada and the US.
Vicky’s experience within the Tech SME sector and in forming organizational HR strategy and
building out a HR function to facilitate rapid growth acceleration will be valuable and useful
for her new position at Wakam.

About Wakam
Wakam is a B2B2C insurance company that creates white-label insurance solutions via its
Play&Plug® technology platform for more than 150 distribution partners. With a footprint
spanning 32 countries and revenue of €654 million in 2022, mostly generated outside France,
Wakam is the European leader in digital and embedded insurance. Strongly committed to
social responsibility, Wakam is a mission-driven company dedicated to enabling transparent
and impactful insurance.