FORTY under 40: Adam McSharry-Downie
Adam McSharry-Downie, Audit director – Cayman Islands, KPMG
Adam McSharry-Downie started his accounting career with KPMG in the UK, qualifying as a chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland. He moved to KPMG in the Cayman Islands in 2016 where he is now a director in the audit practice.
How did you first become involved in captive insurance?
When I moved to KPMG in the Cayman Islands, it was to join its insurance audit team. I hadn’t had previous experience with captives and was looking forward to moving into a new and specialised industry. As KPMG has the largest market share of the local captive audit market, I was quickly able to gain experience with a wide variety of captives and start to build relationships with professionals across the industry. I appreciated, and continue to value, the industry's local and global aspects – working with familiar people on a range of clients worldwide.
What are the greatest challenges of working in this industry, and what do you find most rewarding?
Understanding what captives are and what value they bring remains one of the most common challenges. This continues to be the case even with long-established entities when there is a change in leadership at the parent. Within the industry, evolving regulations require all involved to remain alert and responsive to be able to guide our clients through the changes.
Most rewarding is the collective responsibility we share as an industry to collaborate and support one another. This spirit of cooperation – whether serving clients, promoting the industry or working with professional partners – demonstrates the strength and resilience of the captive insurance sector.
The collective responsibility we share as an industry to collaborate and support one another is most rewarding
Would you recommend the captive insurance industry to young people as a future career path?
The industry is still growing, and is expected to continue. It will also continue to adapt to meet changing needs. Through all this, it still retains a feeling of familiarity – working with the same people on a variety of shared clients, encountering them at conferences or other industry events and collaborating to promote the industry. To someone looking to start on a career path, that combination of growth opportunities, variety of work and meaningful relationships remains an attractive prospect.
What developments do you see ahead for captives?
Core aspects of a captive are how it is structured and the coverage it offers. Both of these will continue to evolve. We continue to see a lot of growth in the group captive market. As traditional insurance costs increase, smaller firms will look to the opportunities that group captives can provide.
Those entities, and larger structures, will also be looking at the coverage that they can provide to meet their stakeholders' needs. There is already an increase in the use of parametric type coverage, which will surely continue as entities seek not only to improve their protection, but also the speed of resolution of claims and cash settlement. Other technologies that will enhance, simplify and speed up the claims process will give more entities the incentive to join programmes where they can take advantage of them.
Do you think your long-term future remains in the captives market?
For the same reasons the industry is attractive to newcomers, it continues to be engaging for those already established in the field. The industry’s growth, variety and the opportunity to foster meaningful relationships all contribute to a rewarding and fulfilling career. The market's dynamic nature ensures its long-term appeal for professionals at every stage of their careers.
Click here to read Captive International’s third FORTY Under 40 2025 publication.
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