AIG appoints new UK head of sales amid restructure

AIG has appointed Jeremy Sharpe as its new head of sales, UK Zone as part of a wider restructuring of its distribution business.

In his new additional role Sharpe will report to UK Zone managing director Jacqueline McNamee.

Since joining AIG in January he has also been responsible for leading the strategic relationships with AIG’s major banking clients.

Following the restructure, the insurer has now created a broker engagement team, which Sharpe will lead, while Charlie Kitson has been promoted to head up the client team. He was previously the head of major accounts practice.

The client team deals with large corporate clients who typically have their own risk managers, as well as brokers, while Sharpe’s team will focus on all broker relationships. Both teams will work closely together.

Previously there was one team, with a major accounts practice and a corporate accounts practice.

A spokesman for AIG said the insurer decided to split the divisions to enable them to focus on their specific markets.

It also forms part of an earlier restructure of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) arm that took place in the Spring and which the UK Zone sits under.

McNamee said: “Jeremy will work closely with Charlie and our UK product leaders and will drive our market-facing activities and execution of our key strategies: portfolio underwriting, international and multi-line. Jeremy will also oversee our UK regional operations.

“This change has been driven by our continuing commitment to putting clients and brokers at the heart of everything we do. This means working harder to deepen our understanding of their priorities and business needs.”