Pinion Insurance Appoints Robert Carlaw as CTO to Drive Sarrus Platform Innovation

Pinion Insurance has appointed Robert Carlaw as Chief Technical Officer to lead the development of its proprietary Sarrus platform. For specialty carriers and MGAs, this move signals a shift toward cross-industry technical recruitment, aiming to replace legacy data exchange methods with automated, audit-ready reporting systems that improve portfolio visibility for reinsurers and capacity providers.

What was announced

Robert Carlaw joins the London-headquartered specialty carrier from SMS Solutions, where he served as Head of Architecture and Software Engineering. His primary mandate is the continued development of Sarrus, Pinion's proprietary technology platform. Sarrus is designed to provide daily portfolio visibility and audit-ready reporting, specifically targeting the friction points between MGAs and their reinsurance partners. By automating data engineering and continuous delivery, the platform aims to modernise how data is exchanged across the specialty insurance value chain.

Carlaw’s background includes over two decades in software engineering and digital transformation within regulated industries. This appointment is part of a broader strategy by Pinion to recruit talent from outside the traditional insurance sector—specifically from environments where cloud infrastructure and sophisticated data automation are already standard. The hire follows a series of executive appointments earlier this year, including Gary S. Maier as US CEO, Kyle Selvig as US Chief Underwriting Officer, and Chris Jones as Group Chief Financial Officer. These moves come as the firm prepares to scale its data-driven underwriting operations and expand its footprint in the specialty market.

"There’s a big opportunity in insurance is to bring in people who have seen what great technology looks like outside the traditional insurance environment and give them the opportunity to rethink how an insurer should operate today."

Laura Baird, Co-Founder and Group CTO of Pinion

The companies involved

Pinion Insurance is a specialty insurance carrier headquartered in London. Formed in early 2024, the company positions itself as a technology-first insurer, focusing on the specialty market where data transparency has historically been a challenge. The firm was co-founded by Laura Baird, who serves as Group Chief Technology Officer, and Philip Vandoninck, the Group Chief Underwriting Officer. Pinion operates with a focus on providing enhanced data insights to MGAs and reinsurers through its Sarrus platform, aiming to bridge the gap between underwriting expertise and modern software engineering.

While the company is relatively new to the London market, its leadership team consists of industry veterans from both the underwriting and technology sectors. The carrier is currently in a growth phase, building out its executive team across both its UK headquarters and its US operations to support its scaling data-driven platform. The company’s strategy relies on integrating technology and IT as fundamental components of the underwriting process rather than standalone support functions.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has previously tracked Pinion’s expansion into the North American market. In September 2026, the publication reported on the appointment of Pinion Insurance Appoints Industry Veteran Gary S. Maier as US CEO to Drive Specialty Growth. Maier, an industry veteran, was brought in to lead the firm's US operations alongside Kyle Selvig, who joined as US Chief Underwriting Officer. This prior coverage highlighted Pinion’s strategy of combining deep specialty underwriting expertise with a modern, tech-centric operational model to differentiate itself from incumbent specialty carriers in a competitive global market.

What this means from an insurtech perspective

This hire highlights a growing tension in the specialty market: the struggle to move beyond "spreadsheet underwriting." By hiring a CTO from outside insurance, Pinion is betting that the industry’s data problems are best solved by generalist software engineering principles rather than legacy insurance IT. For MGAs and reinsurers, the success of the Sarrus platform could set a new benchmark for real-time portfolio transparency, putting pressure on incumbent vendors whose systems often suffer from data latency. If Pinion successfully automates the audit-ready reporting cycle, it may force traditional carriers to accelerate their own core-system modernisations to remain competitive in capacity distribution and maintain customer trust through faster claims processing.