RSA takes new Ireland chief exec from Zurich

RSA has hired former Zurich Ireland boss Ken Norgrove as chief executive of its Irish business, replacing the departed Philip Smith.

Smith resigned from RSA in November amid an internal investigation into RSA Ireland’s accounting practices.

RSA discovered accounting and reserving problems at the Irish operation, which resulted in a £200m hit to the group’s 2013 results and forced the company to shore up its capital base.

The company now believes it has put its Irish woes behind it.

Before joining RSA, Norgrove was chief executive of Zurich General Insurance Ireland. He has also previously worked for RSA.

RSA UK and western Europe chief executive Adrian Brown said: “I am extremely pleased to welcome back Ken to RSA. He has an extensive knowledge of the Irish market plus a strong track record of delivering results and building motivated, highly performing teams.

“We carried out a comprehensive search process and Ken was the stand out candidate. He is held in high regard and has the unanimous support of the board. Our clear intent now is to drive our business forwards with an unrelenting focus on delivering for our customers, our brokers and all our stakeholders.”

Norgrove added: “I am delighted to be asked to lead RSA Insurance Ireland, a business I know very well.  This is an exciting time to be joining as we implement the new strategy following the Group’s recent global business review.

“I look forward to getting started and working closely with the rest of the management team to enhance our positioning, our products and our services across the Irish market.”