Constantine “Dinos” Iordanou, chairman of Vantage Group Holdings Ltd. and long-time insurance industry executive, died Sunday. Mr. Iordanou, 74, held senior executive positions at several commercial insurance companies and was a senior executive at Arch Capital Group Ltd. for 17 years before retiring in 2018.
Who was Constantine P. Iordanou?
Mr. Iordanou emigrated to the United States and graduated from New York University with a degree in aerospace engineering. He joined American International Group Inc. in New York, rising to senior vice president at its American Home Assurance Co. unit. In 1987, he joined Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as head of its commercial casualty operations. In 1992, he joined Zurich American Insurance as president of its specialties unit and held various senior executive positions, rising to senior executive vice president of group operations of Zurich Insurance Group.
Arch, which was reorganized from its predecessor company Risk Capital Reinsurance Co., recruited Mr. Iordanou as president in 2001. He was named CEO of the company in 2003 and chairman in 2009. In 2017, Mr. Iordanou was named Insurance Leader of the Year by St. John’s University’s Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.
After retiring from Arch, in 2020 he launched Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer Vantage with CEO Greg Hendrick. Marc Grandisson, CEO of Arch, said in a statement: “Not only was (Mr. Iordanou) an insurance industry legend, but his leadership, tenaciousness and larger-than-life personality influenced both me and the company in many ways. We’ve lost a great man. He will be deeply missed.”
With a background in underwriting, Mr. Iordanou was also “well-respected and loved in the claims industry,” said David Siesko, former chief claims officer for Arch, who also worked with Mr. Iordanou at Zurich. “Dinos stood behind his claims people. He was always tough on strategy, but once a strategy was decided upon, even if it didn’t work, there was never any finger-pointing or second-guessing. This was a big change in the industry,” he said.
Mr. Iordanou was also a board member of Verisk Analytics Inc. and was senior independent director of the Bank of Cyprus. He was also a supporter of Broadway and West End theater productions and recently he had been involved in efforts to finance a new stadium for Cypriot soccer team APOEL Nicosia.
He is survived by his wife, Marianne, and three daughters.
