Patrick Tiernan: Who is the new Lloyd’s CEO?

By Ryan Hewlett, Rebecca Delaney

May 8 - (The Insurer) – Lloyd’s on Thursday confirmed insider Patrick Tiernan will be its next CEO. While Tiernan is no stranger to Lime Street, The Insurer takes a closer look into the man set to take the helm of the global marketplace.

The appointment, which will see Tiernan commence his tenure on June 1, ends the Russell Reynolds-led search process that was launched after John Neal suddenly gave notice in January with no clear succession planning.

Tiernan is well known across the market having assumed the role of chief of markets at Lloyd’s in May 2021 following four and a half years at London-listed Aviva, where he latterly led UK commercial lines and global corporate and specialty.

This experience has been welcomed by market leaders, including Lloyd’s Market Association CEO Shiela Cameron, who said Tiernan had long “championed” the Lloyd’s marketplace.

During his tenure as chief of markets, Tiernan oversaw continued improvement in underwriting performance, with the market’s combined ratio standing at 86.9% in 2024.

While this marked a year-on-year deterioration of 2.9 points from a record 84.0% in 2023, the market’s strongest underwriting result since 2006, it was a notable improvement from the prior two years of Tiernan’s tenure, at 93.5% and 91.9% for 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Excluding large losses, the underlying combined ratio improved by 1.4 points year on year to 79.1% in 2024. This had stood at 82.3% in 2021 when Tiernan assumed the role.

Underwriting profit has seen an even more notable increase since Tiernan’s arrival in 2021, with Lloyd’s recording an underwriting profit of 5.3 billion pounds last year, a 211% increase from the 1.7 billion pounds posted in 2021.

Tiernan’s focus on sustainable underwriting has also been a consistent theme at the quarterly market message announcements, which he began to deliver at the end of 2021.

Tiernan’s market messages to date have featured robust orders to underwriters to ensure a balance between profitability, sustainability and rate adequacy in underwriting, with the executive notably calling out “moronic” underwriting approaches in D&O in 2023, and more recently “irrational” pricing in some Lloyd’s binding authorities in North America in late 2024.

This approach seems set to continue with Tiernan elevated to the CEO role. Speaking to The Insurer TV ahead of the most recent market message in March, he said the Corporation “intend(s) to keep an iron grip on underwriting,” alongside a new strategy for reinsurance.

In the same interview two months after the announcement of Neal’s impending departure, Tiernan expressed his passion for the Lloyd’s market.

“I don't want to do any campaigning here or anywhere else, but I don't think it's a huge secret that I absolutely love Lloyd's and the market. And if there's a way to serve, I'd obviously be delighted to,” he said.

He further emphasised the privilege and responsibility of his current role, stating: "You're in a massive position of trust. So, I'll just say I love the job I have, and see what happens after that."