Career moves including MS Amlin, SSP and Quarto Group

MS Amlin taps Aviva veteran for chief operating officer role

Insurance group MS Amlin is taking on board Post Office Ltd chief operating officer Rob Houghton. Subject to regulatory approval, Houghton will join the organisation in mid-October. He has served Aviva for around 14 years. Houghton will succeed Simon Smith, who stepped down from MS Amlin earlier this year to pursue other opportunities.

Commenting on the appointment, chief executive Simon Beale, MS Amlin, stated: “We are delighted that Rob will be joining MS Amlin’s senior leadership team. He brings unrivalled experience and a strong track record of leading several successful strategic initiatives across an impressive career spanning more than three decades.”

 

SSP appoints new UK & Ireland CEO

Multinational travel caterer SSP Group has recruited Richard Lewis as chief executive of its UK and Ireland operations.  Lewis will succeed Simon Smith who has been promoted to the group chief executive role following the departure of Kate Swann. Lewis will join the group from Greene King where he served as chief operating officer for around two years.

Commenting upon his appointment, Lewis said: “I’m hugely excited to be joining SSP UK & Ireland and moving into the travel F&B arena. SSP is a fantastic business with a great team, and many opportunities for future growth. I look forward to continuing the success that Simon achieved in the role these past five years.”

 

Quarto Group announces Walter Nolan As CFO

Book publisher Quarto Group has appointed Walter Nolan as its chief financial officer with immediate effect. Nolan will succeed interim head Michael Mousley who was appointed in June 2018. Previously, Mousley was Quarto Group’s finance head between 1987 to 2015. Nolan served Moore Stephens as finance director since 2005.

 

Arrow Global Finance Chief Cooper to Leave; RSA Exec Hotson To Replace

Financial services provider Arrow Global’s chief financial officer Paul Cooper has decided to step down in August to pursue a new role. RSA Insurance Group’s current CFO UK & international, Matt Hotson has been appointed to replace Cooper who will take up the role of deputy CFO at M&G Prudential.

Commenting on the occasion, chief executive Lee Rochford, Arrow said: “Matt is a strong finance professional with experience of leading FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 finance functions and a proven record of developing, communicating and delivering on strategic objectives, across a number of sectors. Paul has been a valued member of the management team since joining Arrow Global and, on behalf of the board, I would like to thank Paul for his contribution.”

 

Lloyd’s appoints Rigby as Chief Operations Officer

Insurance market Lloyd’s of London has promoted Jennifer Rigby to the role of chief operation officer permanently as compared to her serving the organisation on an interim basis since March 2019 following the stepping down of COO Shirine Khoury-Haq.

Rigby’s role as COO includes business transformation, global operations, data, IT, innovation and corporate real estate. She joined the organisation in 2017 as chief information officer. She has also served organisations including BBC, National Archives, Home Office and Department of Energy and Climate Change before moving to Telefónica UK. The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

 

Zurich Europe chief executive of EMEA region resigns

Multi-line insurer Zurich Insurance group’s chief executive of EMEA Amanda Blanc has decided to step down from her role and from the role of the chairwoman of the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Prior to this role, Blanc served as chief executive of AXA as well as Towergate Insurance. Zurich stated Ms Blanc’s successor will be announced in due course.

Commenting upon Amanda Blanc’s decision, group chief executive, Mario Greco, Zurich Insurance Group said: “We appreciate Amanda’s contributions during her time with us, in particular as we drive innovation throughout the business and introduce an enhanced culture of service for our customers.”

 

Hill & Smith hires Hannah Nichols as chief financial officer

Infrastructure supplier Hill & Smith Holdings has taken on board Hannah Nichols as chief financial officer who will take up office on 16 September 2019. Prior to this role, she served BT Group for around 14 years as chief financial officer for BR global services based in Singapore and focusing on key growth region for BT. Nichols has also held various other financial and commercial roles at Cable and Wireless.

 

Tungsten poaches IWG strategy chief as CEO

E-invoicing company Tungsten Corp has hired Andrew Lemonofides as chief executive officer. Lemonofides will succeed Richard Hurwitz who has stepped down after serving the organisation for four years. Lomonofides will take up office in September 2019.

Interim chief executive David Williams will revert to his permanent role as chief financial officer. Lemonofides has served IWG as chief strategy and transformation officer for seven years since 2012. He has also held various finance and operations roles at Dell Corp for nearly 13 years.

 

AB Dynamics names Sarah Matthews-DeMers as CFO

Global automotive manufacturer AB Dynamics has taken on board Sarah Matthews-DeMers as chief financial officer who will take up office from 4 November 2019.

DeMers currently serves as group finance director of Carclo and previously served as director of strategy and investor relations at Rotork and deputy finance director at Avon Rubber.

 

Revolut taps banking veteran Richard Davies as operating chief

Fintech unicorn Revolut has taken on board Richard Davies as its chief operating officer. Prior to this role, Davies has served as TSB’s commercial banking director. He has also worked with HSBC, Barclays and OakNorth.

 

Volution’s new finance chief Andy O’Brien to start in August

Suppliers of ventilation products Volution Group have appointed Andy O’Brien as its chief financial officer following his service as a designate form 24 July 2019. He will succeed Ian Dew who is retiring and will take up office from 1 August 2019. Prior to this role, O’Brien has worked for nine years at Aggreko.

Dew will step down from the board and his executive director roles nut will remain with the organisation to ensure a smooth transition. Commenting upon Andy O’Brien’s appointment, chief executive Ronnie George, Volution Group said: “We are delighted to welcome Andy to the group. He is a highly accomplished senior executive who brings a wealth of financial experience and understands what it takes to grow an international business.”

 

Advanced boosts operational excellence with COO appointment

Enterprise and market-focused solutions providers Advanced has taken on board Liam McGrath as its chief operating officer. McGrath will join the executive leadership team and will report directly to CEO Gordon Wilson. McGrath will work closely with Advanced’s managed services operation, R&D facility and Cyber & Security teams to make these areas world-class centres of excellence.

He has also held other senior leadership roles including chief executive officer of Equiniti Digital, chief operating officer and managing director of group operations for Equiniti group and was associated with other brands such as Royal & Sun Alliance, Vodafone, GE Consumer Finance and Royal Bank of Scotland.

 

Tech firm Seeing Machines names new CEO

AI tech firm Seeing Machines has appointed Paul McGlone, current general manager of the organisation’s fleet division and interim CEO on a permanent basis. The firm’s CFO Luke Oxenham has decided to step down and will be replaced by interim CFO Michael Cameron till a replacement is found.

Speaking on the occasion, interim chair of Seeing Machines Kate Hill, said: “Paul is already well established in the business, has strong relationships with the management group and has developed a deep understanding of the technology since he joined us in 2018. We thank Luke for his contribution to Seeing Machines, for the continued maturing of the finance function under his leadership and wish him success in his new role.”

 

Milligan appoints Stuart Harris as CFO

Retail developer Milligan has announced Stuart Harris as its chief operating officer. Harris would bring along around 25 years of extensive experience in the leasing and development to the company. Speaking about his appointment, Harris exclaimed: “I’m delighted to be joining Milligan at such an exciting time in the industry. Milligan’s unique experience and insights into generating experiential retail and mixed-use environments resonate with my own vision for the future of our industry – and I share the company’s vision for growth.”

 

Laven appoints COO

Regulatory compliance solutions provider, Laven Group has taken on board Brad Stephenson as its chief operating officer. Most recently, he has served as head of funds at Estera and Trident Trust. He has around 10 years of experience in the Cayman funds industry as a business development manager.

Commenting upon Brad Stephenson’s appointment, CEO Jerome Lussan, Laven Group, said: “We’re very excited to have Brad join the team at Laven. With the rapid growth we’ve seen over the last two-three years, including our recent acquisition of CPA compliance and our ambitious plans for the next few years, his experience will help enhance our operations and ensure the efficiencies are in place for the next stage of our growth.”

 

Polar Capital Appoints Nick Farren as Chief Operating Officer

Fund management firm Polar Capital Holdings has hired Nick Farren as its chief operating officer with immediate effect. The organisation also appointed Samir Ayub who served the organisation for nearly nine years as group finance director.

Commenting upon the appointment, chief executive officer, Gavin Rochussen, said: “I welcome Samir and Nick as part of the group’s senior management team. They are both highly experienced and their technical and leadership skills will be invaluable to the group’s future success.”

 

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