Two senior staff join Gallagher following withdrawal of unit from Cooper Gay deal.
Heath Lambert has reopened the door to the sale of its Global Business Solutions (GBS) unit following the departure of senior staff.
A number of staff are believed to have left the unit, including its chief Martin Emkes and executive director Ross Bridger, who have both joined Arthur J Gallagher, it confirmed this week.
Aon Re Global Fac confirmed it had recruited Paul Cousins, Heath Lambert’s Afghanistan facultative specialist.
Heath Lambert has recently concluded the sale of its aviation, reinsurance and UK wholesale divisions to Cooper Gay, but GBS was left out of the deal, despite initially being included.
A spokesman for Heath Lambert said that discussions over the future of GBS were ongoing, and confirmed that a sale to another party remained an option.
The spokesman said: “There is no clarity as yet on the future of GBS. Commercial discussions are ongoing. Final decisions have not been made.”
Heath Lambert chief executive Adrian Colosso has repeatedly said that the company would move to focus on its retail business. “We have made no secret of our plans to become a UK focused retail insurance broker and employee benefits consultant,” he said recently. “But we are keen to reiterate that we will retain a number of speciality wholesale lines of business, and that our commitment in these areas of our work remains as strong as it has ever been.”
The spokesman added that Heath Lambert retained wholesale elements in other parts of the business, including its large accounts and project risks divisions.
In a related move, Heath Lambert has recruited two staff as part of a management restructure. Mark Trevor has been appointed chief operating officer for Heath Lambert National, while Steve Totty has joined the company as product development director.
The reshuffle will see the the group’s real estate, transportation, construction, PFI and terrorism units all under a single management.
