History
Having studied law at UL, Rupert joined Willis Faber & Dumas on their grad scheme in 1990. After a great introduction to reinsurance at Willis which included 2 years in New York, Rupert joined Benfield Lovick & Rees in 1994. Joining as the 63rd employee, Rupert saw the meteoric rise of Benfield all the way through to the sale of Benfield to Aon in 2008. Initially as reinsurance broker, latterly as an operator, Rupert ended his time at the firm as COO of the FTSE 150 business. Witnessing various acquisitions along the way and the IPO of Benfield in 2003, Rupert got his first taste of venture capital and private equity by managing the non-core investment assets of Benfield and running a “go private” strategy for Benfield between 2006 and 2008 that eventually put the firm in play.
Recent
2009 saw Rupert establish his first business as the Founder of Capsicum Private Office LLP (now Panthera). Through the period 2009 – 2013 a number of VC and start up opportunities led to the establishment of much of the stable now being managed by Kinney & Sons. In 2013, Rupert co-founded Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers LLP. In the six years that followed, Capsicum Re grew from a blank piece of paper to the fifth largest reinsurance broker globally and Rupert led a successful exit to Gallagher in January 2020. Having successfully transitioned Capsicum Re and fully integrated it, Rupert left Gallagher in January 2021.
Kinney
The name Kinney & Sons is derived from Rupert’s heritage in that he was born Rupert Kinney in 1967. Upon his mother’s re-marriage in 1972 he took his step father’s name and became known as Rupert Swallow. Both his sons carry the Kinney name and so the creation of Kinney & Sons brings history full circle.
Ventures
We've backed some exciting projects across a variety of industries.
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