James L. Zech
James L. Zech is a co-founder and President of High Ridge Capital and has served in this position since its formation in 1995. In this connection, Mr. Zech has served as a director of Max Re Capital, the James River Group, Eastern Insurance Holdings, Front Royal Group, Acordia Inc., Old American Holdings, SelectQuote, Inc, and Insurance Data Systems.
From 1988 through 1995, Mr. Zech was an investment banker covering the insurance industry. From 1988 through 1992, Mr. Zech was a member of the Insurance Group of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation. In 1992, Mr. Zech joined S.G. Warburg & Co. Inc. to form a U.S. Insurance Group as part of Warburg’s worldwide financial institutions practice. At Warburg, Mr. Zech continued to work on many U.S. insurance assignments as well as cross border transactions.
During his investment banking career, Mr. Zech was involved with a wide variety of financial transactions for insurance companies including public and private equity and debt offerings, buy-side and sell-side advisory assignments, joint ventures, fairness opinions and valuation assignments. Transactions representative of his experience include the initial public offering of Philadelphia Consolidated Holdings Corporation; several secondary offerings of common stock of MBIA Inc.; the public offering of senior notes in Integon Corporation; the sale of Chartwell Re Corporation to an investor group led by Wand Partners; the acquisition of the Home Insurance Company by Trygg-Hansa; the investment by AEGON in a bancassurance joint venture with Banamex (the largest bank in Mexico); and the sale of CIGNA Re’s international business to The St. Paul Companies.
From 1984 through 1988, Mr. Zech was with American Independent Reinsurance Company where he served as Corporate Secretary and Counsel (1984-1985) and Chairman and CEO (1986-1988). From 1982 through 1984, Mr. Zech was a corporate attorney with the New York law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Mr. Zech has a B.S. degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1979) and J.D. degree from New York University School of Law (1982).