Bradshaw takes the helm following Andrew Paddick's death last month
The board of the Institute of Insurance Brokers (IIB) has announced the appointment of Barbara Bradshaw as its new chief executive with immediate effect, following the death of Andrew Paddick last month.
Graham Gomm, chairman, said: “The board was determined that we should continue to provide the very highest level of service to, and on behalf of, our members.
"During the past five years, the Institute has come increasingly to rely on the team that Andrew and Barbara had created, belying any idea that Andrew was the sole voice of the Institute. Barbara is the ideal person to move this forward for us.”
Barbara Bradshaw said: “Nobody could fill Andrew’s shoes; nor would they want to. He has left the legacy of a strong Institute with a first class team that can continue to represent the interests of its members, as well as to provide them with technical and regulatory support.
"Our first priority is to ensure that the voice of small and medium sized insurance brokers is not lost and that our views continue to be heard.”
John Greenway, MP (chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Insurance and Financial Services) and the Institute’s president, said: “The board and I have every confidence in Barbara Bradshaw’s ability to represent the interests of insurance brokers at the very highest level.
"She has been involved in all the Institute’s initiatives, since the beginning and is well known in the corridors of power.”
Bradshaw added: “Andrew Paddick was rightly proud of the many achievements of the Institute since it was founded more than 20 years ago, based on the strength of its board of directors.
"He was keen to surround himself with successful entrepreneurs and enjoyed working closely with insurance brokers, who he found to be an excellent sounding board for new ideas.”
Gomm added: “I am confident that in Barbara Bradshaw, we have a highly experienced person as chief executive who has worked closely with Andrew since the very beginning and will be able to carry forward his unique legacy of robustly representing the interests of the insurance broking community.”
Barbara Bradshaw will be backed by a strong team both within the Institute and beyond it. They include Ann Peel, head of technical services and former registrar of the Insurance Brokers Registration Council, who will be responsible for regulatory and technical insurance matters and Barbara Johnston, administration manager, supported by the Higham Ferrers team.
