Roxburgh bullish on Lloyd’s opportunity, CEO search remains top priority

By Ryan Hewlett

May 1 - (The Insurer) - Charles Roxburgh has said his first priority as Lloyd’s chair will be to complete the search for CEO John Neal’s successor, with the former senior British civil servant and McKinsey alumnus indicating that he will be able to present a recommendation to the Council in the near future.

Roxburgh, who was confirmed as the successor to Bruce Carnegie-Brown in September last year, formally assumed the role of Lloyd’s chair on May 1.

Roxburgh made the statement in his first formal communication to the market on Thursday, in which he set out his immediate priorities as Lloyd’s chair.

In the letter, seen by The Insurer, Roxburgh said: "Once the new CEO is in place, we plan to launch a more extensive process of engagement with the market, working closely with Council and with the market associations, to listen to your views and to get your input so we can together set the course for the next stage of Lloyd’s strategic development and continued success.”

Ahead of Roxburgh formally taking over as chairman, Lloyd's initiated a process to identify its next CEO, with executive search firm Russell Reynolds appointed to assist the process.

In January, Lloyd’s CEO Neal announced he would exit the Lime Street market to join Aon as global chairman of climate solutions and global CEO of reinsurance.

Roxburgh offered a bullish outlook on the global growth opportunities for Lloyd’s, which he said are “more promising than at any point in its recent history".

"However, I know that Lloyd's strong progress and performance is not a given, and must be protected and built on against a challenging backdrop, including: navigating an increasingly complex and uncertain geopolitical and macro-economic environment; delivering on the critical programme of digitisation that is vital for our future competitiveness; continuing to meet the high expectations of our customers for innovative, cost-effective solutions; and providing our investors with sustained, attractive returns on capital,” he said.

“I am confident that, working together, we can surmount these challenges, to both protect the hard-earned progress made in more recent times, and continue to strengthen and deliver our unique value proposition, building an even more successful Lloyd’s in the years to come.”