27 March 2015 Insurance

AJG takes Ross to court

Arthur J Gallagher (AJG) is taking the former chief executive officer (CEO) of AJG International to court, following his defection to Towergate.

David Ross left the company to become CEO of Towergate in February, sparking a number of senior desertions to Towergate in fast succession.

An application for the case to be heard is being made in the Royal Courts of Justice today (March 27, 2015) before Mr Justice Edis, a former prosecutor in the News of the World phone hacking trial.

AJG could be seeking an injunction against Ross, to limit him from luring former colleagues to Towergate.

Following Ross’ appointment at Towergate, defections followed thick and fast. Janice Deakin and Adrian Brown joined Towergate soon after Ross. Deakin previously served as CEO of UK retail at AJG International, while Brown served as executive chairman of underwriting and distribution.

They were followed by Mark Mugge, chief financial officer of AJG International and Sarah Dalgarno, the former chief risk officer (CRO) of AJG International, joined a month later as CRO.

In February, Towergate confirmed that majority ownership would transfer to the senior unsecured creditors, including funds or accounts managed or advised by Highbridge Principal Strategies, KKR Credit Advisors (US) and Sankaty Advisors. Highbridge will be the largest investor.

Ross has become CEO of Highbridge Principal Strategies’ (HPS) newly formed portfolio company, Sierra Investments. Sierra is the vehicle through which HPS will invest in Towergate Group.

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