AJG unveils UK retail team
Broker Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) has unveiled the details of its core UK retail executive team.
The team will lead the wider divisional structure made up of geographic regions and national specialist practices. John Durki will remain in his current role as chairman – UK retail.
Phil Branch, formerly operations director of the Lloyd’s & London market-focused specialty division, becomes chief operating officer. Kay Smith, formerly finance planning & analysis director for the overall international broking business, becomes chief financial officer.
Declan Durkan, formerly managing director of casualty in the specialty division, becomes managing director - national broking & placement. The UK property & casualty team, headed by Martin Lacey, will move across into UK retail from specialty to become part of the national team.
Jane Spriggs, who joined from Equity Insurance Group, takes up the newly created role of HR director for UK retail.
To support the wider group of regional managing directors, who are tasked with maximising profitable growth in their respective geographies, three new area managing director roles have been created as part of the UK retail executive team. These will be taken up by Gary Fletcher, Peter Matthews and Jon Simpkin while retaining their regional responsibilities.
Similarly, Nick Sharp will sit on the UK retail executive as niche practice managing director to help shape the strategic direction of the enlarged range of national specialisms created by the integration of acquired businesses and their domain expertise.
Janice Deakin, UK retail chief executive officer, said: “A business the size and scale of our combined retail operations needs a tight and cohesive leadership team who can put 100% focus on enabling our people to deliver.
“While it is early days for me in this role, I’m passionate about making sure we offer the local client service backed by sector-specific expertise that sits at the heart of our strategy, and our regional managing directors and national practice leaders are the driving force behind our business.
“This new exec structure will enable them to focus on growing their regions and niche areas, both organically and through targeted bolt-on acquisitions, as we move from integration to growth. We have some fantastic talent and experience across the Arthur J. Gallagher business and this is a great opportunity for me to tap into that talent to ensure we realise the full potential of our investment in creating a UK-wide commercial broking platform.”
