New chief executive Adrian Brown names ‘streamlined’ management team.
The new chief executive of RSA, Adrian Brown, has overhauled his management team to cut down his direct reports and streamline the business.
He has also replaced RSA’s three business units – broker, retail and affinity – with two, commercial and personal.
Brown told Insurance Times the changes would make the business more effective. He said the best teams operated with a minimal number of direct reports, so he was cutting his reports from 10 to eight.
The commercial business unit effectively will take over from the broker unit. It will be run by Paul Donaldson, head of broker.
The personal division will be led by Mike Holliday-Williams, who will also have responsibility for marketing across the whole business. Holliday-Williams worked with Brown in his previous role at More Than, RSA’s direct arm.
Gordon Henderson, UK strategy and marketing director, is to leave RSA.
Neil Lightbown, currently at Zurich Financial Services, will join the insurer as underwriting director. He will take up his post next year after a period of gardening leave.
Julie Hopes, currently managing director affinity, will become operations director within RSA’s international business, effective from 1 December.
“The changes I’ve made to my senior team are designed to simplify our structure and give clearer focus and accountability,” said Brown.
“Neil Lightbown has extensive experience across both personal and commercial lines and I’m delighted that he is joining RSA. I’d like to thank Julie and Gordon for the significant contributions they have made to the UK business and wish them well.”
Brown took over from Bridget McIntyre in September, when she left to spend more time with her family. He was RSA’s chief operating officer.
Last week, the company reported a healthy balance sheet in its third-quarter management statement. Its UK net written premium stood at £2.03bn for the nine months to 30 September 2008, in line with the previous year. The insurer said it was on track for a combined operating ratio of 95% or better at the full year.
