Mike Butler takes the reins at Ignition

AXA has appointed Mike Butler, its head of commercial marketing, as general manager of Ignition.

Butler, who will retain his current role, replaces Andy Heap, whose departure was revealed in Insurance Times last month.

Butler’s appoint follows a review of the Ignition, a specialist marketing company for brokers, following its acquisition in 2007.

Butler has pledged to retain the independence of the business; make it more accessible; look for opportunities for growth; and offer more to brokers accessing Ignition through AXA.

He said: “Challenging markets demand the execution of cost effective marketing with a track record of delivery. Increasingly, brokers wanting to grow their business are realising that Ignition is the most appropriate solution.”

In a separate development, AXA has announced the area managers that have been appointed to its Commercial Lines Regional Management team.

In its Customer Delivery team, which looks after its day to day trading and service delivery, the following appointments have been made:

Linda Courtney becomes Regional Manager, South, with responsibility for the branches in London, Redhill and Reading.

Warren Bainbridge becomes Regional Manager, North West, looking after the branches in Bolton and Manchester.

Barrie King is appointed Regional Manager Central, looking after branches in Birmingham, Bristol and Ipswich

Hannah Hosking is appointed Regional Manager, North East and Scotland, with responsibilities for the branches in Glasgow, Newcastle and Leeds.

In its Commercial Distribution team, which looks after sales and strategic broker relationships, three new appointments have been made:

John Maguire becomes Regional Development Manager, North

Steve Hancock is appointed Regional Development Manager, Central

Sean Clark is appointed Regional Development Manager, South

Anthony Middle, Managing Director of Commercial Lines at AXA, said: “We have been reviewing our structure over the past few months to ensure we provide the best possible service for brokers and the most efficient structure for our future development. Our new management team will now be looking closely at our operating practices to ensure we are meeting the changing needs of our customers and the challenges that lie ahead”.