Arthur J Gallagher looks to RSA for chief information officer

Arthur J Gallagher has appointed Giles Baxter to the newly created role of international chief information officer.

He joined from RSA where he was responsible for IT and change and a member of the UK and Western Europe executive team. He was previously RSA’s IT and operations director for Asia, chief information officer for emerging markets and group IT strategy member.

At Gallagher, Baxter will be responsible for all territories outside North America, including the UK, Australia, Singapore, South America, the Caribbean and Norway.

Gallagher international chief executive David Ross said: “The rapid pace of our own expansion, coupled with the insurance market’s growing reliance on technology to do business, demands a forward-looking, highly strategic IT strategy and Giles’ credentials are an exceptional fit to our needs.

“In less than 10 years, we’ve transformed from a London market wholesaler with 385 staff to a 3,500-strong multi-territory operation spread across four core divisions of UK retail, London specialty, underwriting and distribution, and international. We need to create a technology landscape fit for the future, a future that will see organic growth, geographic diversification and acquisitions in equal measure.”

Baxter added: “It’s my job to ensure AJG is at the forefront of IT trends shaping the industry, whether that’s Big Data or e-placement, proactively embracing those trends rather than reactively responding to them. I’m excited by Gallagher’s enormous appetite for growth and its willingness to invest in the infrastructure critical to keeping pace with technological change.”