Prem Watsa is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, a financial services holding company he took control of in September 1985. The company, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property, casualty and life insurance and reinsurance, investment management and insurance claims management.
• Since 1985, Fairfax has earned an average annual return on shareholders’ equity of approximately 16%. Fairfax has total assets of approximately $36 billion, revenues in excess of $6 billion, and common shareholders’ equity of approximately $3.5 billion. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
• In October 1984, he founded Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. (now owned by Fairfax) with an associate, Tony Hamblin. The company currently manages the $15 billion in Fairfax’s investment portfolios. Long-term investment results continue to be ranked among the top investment managers across North America.
• From 1974-1983, he was at Confederation Life Insurance Company, where he did investment research and managed stock portfolios for pension clients.
• He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from I.I.T., Madras, an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
• His board memberships include Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited and Lindsey Morden Group Mr. Watsa is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Sick Children, the Advisory Board for the Richard Ivey School of Business and the Royal Ontario Museum Foundation Board of Directors as well as Chairman of the Investment Committee of St. Paul’s Anglican Church.
