Outsider appointed chief executive at Marsh

Marsh has taken the rare step of appointing someone from outside the industry as the chief executive of its UK and Ireland business.

Mark Weil, who is currently head of EMEA financial services at the broker’s sister company Oliver Wyman, will take on his new role at Marsh after receiving regulatory approval from the FSA. He replaces Martin South, now Marsh Europe’s chief executive.

South was originally the head of Marsh UK & Ireland and was provisionally covering his old role after joining Marsh Europe in January.

Highly recommended

Although unknown in the insurance industry, Weil comes highly recommended.

A former Oliver Wyman colleague told Insurance Times: “Despite coming from a different background, Mark knows Marsh well, so it should be a smooth transition.”

South said: “Marsh is fortunate to have attracted a leader of Mark’s calibre who brings deep experience in running a world-class client advisory business, extensive knowledge of Marsh and our operations, and a strong understanding of the insurance industry.”

Most of the top UK insurer bosses contacted by Insurance Times confessed to knowing little about Weil.

‘Despite coming from a different background, Mark knows Marsh well, so it should be a smooth transition’

Former Oliver Wyman colleague

Weil, 48, believes that his skills in helping clients manage their risk at Oliver Wyman will equip him well for the Marsh job. “Having seen at first-hand the risks facing the financial services sector,” he said,

“I know that economic conditions are placing UK businesses under tremendous pressure.

“I am excited to be leading Marsh’s excellent team in the UK, which I know well, and working with them to enable our clients to manage and mitigate those risks.”

UK Special Forces

Weil, a former member of the UK Special Forces, was at Oliver Wyman for the last 15 years, where he helped set up and then led the management consultant’s global retail banking practice, with a focus on distribution, performance management and productivity.

During his time there, Weil helped to establish a public policy practice and has been heavily involved in issues such as conduct risk, competition policy, deposit insurance and ring-fencing. He has also worked on supervisory reforms in banking and reviews of Libor.

Prior to going into financial services, Weil worked for ACNielsen, where he advised consumer goods groups including Unilever and Mars, and also held overseas roles in Paris and Tokyo.