11 December 2015 Insurance

Marsh appoints new CEO at Jelf

Insurance broker Marsh has appointed Phil Barton as chief executive officer (CEO) of Jelf. He succeeds Alex Alway, who is to become a non-executive director on the Marsh board.

Barton joins Marsh’s UK & Ireland executive committee reporting to Mark Weil, CEO of Marsh UK & Ireland.

Barton, an insurance and financial services professional with more than 30 years' experience, has been CEO of Jelf’s Insurance business since 2010, having previously been the group’s head of compliance, group commercial director and group marketing director.

Prior to joining Jelf in 2003, he worked for Axa, where he was the managing director (independent financial advisers Sales) and prudential, where he was sales director (national accounts).

Barton will lead a new structure at Jelf which will comprise three divisions: general insurance, employee benefits (EB), and direct and partnerships.

Marsh announced on December 1, 2015, that it had completed its acquisition of Jelf.

Jelf’s general insurance business will work closely with Marsh’s existing business to bring its combined capabilities to a wide range of customers. The business will be led by Rob Worrell, currently managing director (Trading) at Jelf Insurance.

The EB businesses of Jelf and Mercer Marsh Benefits will be combined to create a single business. Within this, the small and medium-sized enterprise-focused unit will be led by Glenn Thomas, currently CEO of Jelf employee benefits, who also joins the Marsh UK & Ireland executive committee and the Mercer Marsh Benefits UK leadership team. To enable its further growth, Jelf’s financial planning business will transfer to Mercer.

Marsh’s existing broker networks and affinity businesses, together with the recently-acquired small to medium-sized insurance services will become part of the new direct and partnerships division in Jelf and will complement Jelf’s purple partnership and existing affinities business.

“We want to build on the well-known and respected Jelf brand by making it the basis for Marsh’s offering to the UK’s consumer and small and medium-sized commercial clients,” said Weil.

“Phil Barton has been a great leader in Jelf and I am confident that he, together with Glenn and Rob, will provide the leadership to drive this business forward.

“Alex has played a pivotal role in the growth of Jelf and in bringing our businesses together and, on the Marsh Ltd board, he will continue to help make the integration a success for our clients and colleagues.”

Barton also said the management changes represent a fantastic opportunity for Marsh to build the “UK’s leading insurance and financial services proposition”.

He added: “The alignment and cultural fit between Marsh and Jelf has enabled the businesses to come together for the benefit of clients. This is a great vote of confidence in colleagues and our capabilities as a team.”

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