Printed from BusinessInsurance.com

JLT shuffles execs, merges specialty units

Posted On: Aug. 29, 2014 12:00 AM CST

JLT shuffles execs, merges specialty units

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group P.L.C. said Friday that JLT Re CEO Alastair Speare-Cole will leave the company as Mark Drummond Brady is appointed deputy group CEO.

At the same time, the London-based brokerage announced the merger of its JLT Specialty unit with its wholesale brokerage unit Lloyd & Partners.

Mr. Brady's appointment to deputy group CEO takes place immediately, and he will also sit on the executive committee and the board of the newly merged JLT Specialty/Lloyd & Partners business. The merged unit will be named JLT Specialty Insurance Services Inc. but JLT will retain the Lloyd & Partners brand.

According to a JLT statement, the merger signals its intention to significantly grow its U.S. business where it will expand existing business lines, including energy, construction, financial lines and credit insurance.

Mr. Spear-Cole will leave the company at the end of the year but will hand over his responsibilities immediately to Mike Reynolds, who has been named as global CEO of JLT Towers Re. The company said Mr. Speare-Cole will work with Mr. Reynolds “to manage the transition between now and the year end.”

The company also said that Martin Hiller has been appointed CEO of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and will assume responsibility for its MGA businesses and Thistle Insurance Services Ltd. Previously, Mr. Hiller headed JLT Specialty.

“Mark stepped in as Interim Group CEO during my recent brief absence and did an excellent job. His appointment as Deputy Group CEO will enable me to focus more of my time on delivering the Group's important strategic initiatives,” Dominic Burke, JLT Group CEO said in the statement.

“Mike has the experience and the vision to take on the role of global CEO of JLT Towers Re,” continued Mr. Burke. “Martin has completed nine successful years as CEO of JLT Specialty. His appointment reflects the strong potential that we see in our EMEA, MGA and Thistle UK businesses.”

Mr. Burke said Mr. Speare-Cole “has played a pivotal role in the development of JLT Towers Re. I would like to extend my appreciation for the significant contribution he has made over the last few years, and I wish him well for the future.”

The merger of JLT Specialty and Lloyd & Partners will take effect Jan. 1, 2015, and will subsequently involve an investment of £50 million ($82.9 million) between 2015 and 2017, the company said in its statement, with the business expected to generate a profit in 2018.

Michael Rice has been appointed CEO and Pat Donnelly president and deputy CEO of JLT Specialty, while Mr. Brady, deputy group CEO of JLT, and Jonathan Palmer-Brown, a member of the JLT Group executive committee, will become members of the U.S. executive team.

John Lloyd, current CEO of Lloyd & Partners, is named CEO of JLT Specialty, and Adrian Girling, the current Chairman of JLT Specialty, is appointed Chairman of Lloyd & Partners. The Lloyd & Partners brand will be retained to service and develop the group's independent wholesale client base, the company said in its statement.

“We are committed to building the pre-eminent specialty team in the U.S.,” said Mr. Burke. “The U.S. is a market in which we see a significant opportunity and demand for JLT's distinctive offering and to which we are firmly committed following our successful acquisition of Towers Watson Re last year.