SIRC: Gallagher Re plans strategic M&A to solidify APAC market position
November 3 2025 by Andrew Mullen
Gallagher Re is targeting organic growth and strategic acquisitions to solidify its market position in Asia Pacific, according to Mark O’Brien, managing director and head of Asia Pacific.
Gallagher Re wants to be the “go-to broker” through high-profile hiring and complementary M&A.
“We’re always looking to grow,” O’Brien stated, setting the tone for the company’s ambitious agenda.
“On the people front, we are always looking to add quality individuals to our organisation and we’re looking to add complementary businesses,” he said.
He emphasised that organic growth remains the “primary growth engine,” driven by expanding the firm’s offerings in key areas.
“Whether that’s through market share, expansion of our life and health offering, renewable, casualty or cyber, there’s a lot of organic growth that we’re trying to achieve in the region,” O’Brien said.
A critical component of this organic push is assembling elite client teams.
“We are trying to put together the best client teams that we can,” he explained. “Part of the reason for the sort of high profile hiring that we’ve done is in order to achieve that. We want to be the go-to broker for everybody in the region.”
“Organic growth will only get us somewhere, so we’re looking to see if we can embed in some complementary businesses around the region and that’s where the M&A comes in.”
Earlier this year, Gallagher Re bought Australian broker Steadfast Re and acquired a Chinese licence through an acquisition. It also reached an agreement to take 100% control of the Japan P&C cedent facultative portfolio from JV partner Miller.
India, Thailand are great examples of where we're going to be looking to invest and grow our portfolio business.
Mark O’Brien, Gallagher Re
“I think over the next five years you’ll probably see more activity by Gallagher Re on the M&A side,” O’Brien projected.
The growth strategy will be tailored to the diverse markets within the region.
While he noted that “Gallagher Re is very strong” in Southeast Asia, with a goal to “consolidate and grow,” he described China as a market where the company is “just getting started”.
“We’ve got a fabulous portfolio business, an incredible team. We’ve got our platform ready and we’re going to grow that market,” he said of its Chinese operations.
Looking at other key territories, O’Brien identified significant potential for expansion.
“If you then think [of] some of the other larger markets, Korea, India, Thailand… our footprint isn’t quite as large as we’d like it to be.”
He named India and Thailand as prime targets for investment.
“India, Thailand are great examples of where we’re going to be looking to invest and grow our portfolio business,” O’Brien said, clarifying that this expansion would be achieved “through acquisitions of people and companies.”
“Gallagher is a growth organisation, and Gallagher Re has been tasked with growing that market share.”
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