Ageas appoints external hire as new director of distribution

General insurer Ageas has appointed Russell White as its new director of distribution for regional brokers, niche and specialist schemes; he will start the role in March.

White’s appointment concludes the reshuffle of Ageas’s revised intermediated distribution structure – the insurer announced last October that three new leadership positions would be created, split by intermediated distribution channel, in order to replace Chris Dobson, former distribution and development director, when he retired from the firm at the end of 2019.

White, who has 25 years of industry experience, will assume responsibility for the growth of Ageas’s regional broker relationships, as well as oversee developments of the niche and specialist schemes propositions across both personal and commercial lines.

Pyramid leadership

Although White is an external hire, the other two leadership roles were filled internally.

Darren Whittaker, previously head of personal lines key accounts, was appointed as director of distribution for large personal line brokers and affinity partnerships, while Mark Auchterlonie, head of strategic accounts, became the director of distribution for large commercial lines brokers and new business development position.

All three directors report to Ant Middle, chief customer officer, who is responsible for UK-wide distribution, proposition development and service delivery.

He said: “I look forward to welcoming Russell to the team in March. His strong track record in commercial SME trading underpins our appetite to grow in this area, while retaining our strength in the personal lines market.

“Russell’s appointment complements our experienced and successful broker-facing team, and brings real drive and enthusiasm to grow with our business.”

White, who has expertise in SMEs and e-trading in particular, has previously worked at RSA and Allianz.