Five things you didn't know about...

Guerrilla warfare...

I was held up at gunpoint in Colombia in 1990 by guerrillas in a case of mistaken identity. They eventually released me when they realised their mistake but until then I had a loaded machine gun mounted on the back of a truck pointing at my head.

Tennis ace...

I play a lot of sport particularly tennis which I take very seriously. Last year I competed in and eventually won the Arch Re tournament at Queens.

Suits you, sir...

I do love clothes and have 30 suits, most of them handmade, one for each day of the month. Each has a flamboyant lining however I do not wear them in rotation!

Fairytale of New York...

I began my career at Cooper Gay at the age of 19 and at the age of 24 spent some time in New York setting up a reinsurance intermediary.

High praise...

In 2007 I got an entry into the Sunday Times entrepreneur of the year where I was highly commended.

Toby Esser is group chief executive of Lloyd's broker Cooper Gay.