Brightside’s retail broking and affinities heads leave in shake-up

Brightside retail broking director Andrew Jackson and e-commerce and affinities director Simon Jones have left the broking group as part of a senior management shake-up, Insurance Times can reveal.

The broker has also hired former RSA executive Tony Coram as its new chief operating officer.

Jones is a long-serving member of the Brightside senior team. He joined the broker in 2006 as IT director and was named e-commerce director in 2012.

Jackson joined Brightside on 1 May 2013 from Marsh, where he worked for 17 years.

Coram was at RSA for 25 years in a variety of roles, most recently operations and IT director for the insurer’s emerging markets business.

These changes follow the appointment of former Arthur J Gallagher Direct managing director Andy Wallin (pictured) as Brighstide’s new chief executive, former Gallagher Insurance Solutions managing director Des O’Connor as group commercial director and James Fairhurst as chief information officer (see below for full senior management team).

Wallin said: “We have big plans for Brightside and we need a scalable structure which brings the business together, simplifying our business model and protecting what’s great about Brightside, whilst preparing for growth.

“I’d like to thank Andrew Jackson and Simon Jones for the work they have done at Brightside and wish them well in their future endeavours.”

Commenting on Coram’s appointment, Wallin said: “Tony’s appointment further strengthens the Brightside Executive team and I am really excited about delivering our ambitious growth plans in 2015. Securing yet another high calibre insurance executive is testament to the industry’s belief in the potential that Brightside has to offer. “

Coram added: “Opportunities like this don’t come along often and the chance to join a great business and talented team under Andy’s leadership was compelling.”

Brightside was bought last year by private equity house AnaCap.

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