Fairfax India Appoints Debbie Chalkley as New Chief Financial Officer

Fairfax India Holdings has appointed Debbie Chalkley as chief financial officer (CFO), effective immediately.

Chalkley has been a part of the Fairfax organisation for more than 13 years, most recently serving as the CFO at Onlia Insurance.

Prior to this, she held various roles at Northbridge Financial, including as vice-president in both the finance and information technology departments.

The current CFO of Fairfax India, Amy Sherk, has been named as the CFO of Fairfax, the controlling shareholder of Fairfax India.

Sherk will continue to play a role at Fairfax India as vice-president, ensuring a smooth transition for Chalkley and contributing to the company’s long-term growth.

Fairfax India founder Prem Watsa said: “Fairfax India is fortunate to have had the benefit of Amy’s leadership, expertise, dedication, and financial acumen for the past six years. I have no doubt Amy will continue to thrive in her new role as CFO of Fairfax.

“We are also excited to welcome Debbie to the Fairfax India team and look forward to working with her during the next phase of Fairfax India’s growth. As I have said many times, we are lucky to have the executive depth within the Fairfax family to continue to execute sound succession planning.”

Fairfax India invests in public and private equity securities and debt instruments in India and Indian businesses, or other businesses with customers, suppliers, or business primarily carried out in, or dependent on, India.

The company disclosed a net loss of $41.2 million (C$59.41 million) for the fiscal year 2024, a stark contrast to net earnings of $371.8 million in 2023.

Meanwhile, Fairfax Financial, the controlling shareholder of Fairfax India, reported a decline in net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024, with a 14.7% decrease to $1.15 billion from $1.32 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

The full-year figures also reflected a downturn, with net earnings falling by 19% to $4.2 billion in 2024 from $5 billion in 2023.

However, operating income for property and casualty insurance and reinsurance increased to $6.5 billion in 2024, up from $5.7 billion the previous year.

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