The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), recognized as one of Canada’s prominent institutional investors, has announced the appointment of Ken Bennett as a Strategic Advisor for its Private Equity program, effective immediately.
Residing in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Bennett will dedicate his efforts towards enhancing long-term value creation activities across BCI Private Equity’s global portfolio and strengthening strategic alliances with both current and prospective management teams to facilitate further business expansion.
In conjunction with this role, Bennett has also been appointed to the board of BMS Group, a BCI Private Equity investment, offering strategic oversight on ongoing value creation and growth initiatives. BMS Group is a distinguished independent specialty insurance and reinsurance broker headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
Bennett possesses over thirty years of operational experience in the insurance and reinsurance sectors, complemented by extensive expertise in business strategy and management. He is an entrepreneur and holds ownership interests in Bennett’s Home Hardware Building Centre, Bennett Developments Inc., and Bennett Real Estate Services. Additionally, he is a co-founder and strategic advisor to Vedra AI, a Canadian artificial intelligence startup focused on advancing AI technologies within the insurance industry. Previously, Bennett served as President of Johnson Insurance Ltd. and Assurance Company for fifteen years, during which he led a successful transformation and expansion of the enterprise, establishing it as one of Canada’s leading providers of insurance and benefits.
Bennett also has extensive board experience, currently serving as the chair of the board of The Health Care Foundation, one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest charitable organizations. He is also the former chair of the board of Newfoundland Power, a Fortis Company, and presently serves as a board member of both BMS Group and Vedra AI.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are pleased to welcome an accomplished industry leader of Ken’s calibre to BCI’s Private Equity program. Ken is the first of several senior advisors we plan to bring on to work alongside our talented team to help scale and support our growing global portfolio. He will be a key asset to the BMS board, and his deep operating expertise, board-level insight, and unparalleled experience in insurance and reinsurance will further strengthen our value creation model, governance and alignment across our portfolio.”
Jim Pittman, Executive Vice President & Global Head of Private Equity
“I’m honored to leverage my experience as an operator across the global, Canadian and North American insurance landscape to support the growth of BCI Private Equity and contribute to the BMS board. I look forward to working alongside Jim and the talented executive team at BCI Private Equity to help advance its strategic initiatives and long-term value creation.”
Ken Bennett
