The Board

On the Board, three of our executive directors lead underwriting businesses, ensuring a strong direct link between the business and the Board members. The non-executive directors each bring specific, in-depth areas of expertise to the Board.

Executive Directors

Andrew Beazley is the deputy chairman of the company having been chief executive since 1986. Andrew is a co-founder of Beazley Furlonge Limited. He has 32 years’ experience at Lloyd’s.

Andrew was appointed chief executive on 1st September 2008. Previously he was finance director and he joined the board in June 2003. Prior to that he was UK chief financial officer at ING and was deputy global chief financial officer and global head of finance for the equity markets division of ING Barings, having held various financial positions with ING Barings since January 1997. He qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers and Lybrand in 1987.

Clive joined Beazley in 1998 as Head of Marine for Syndicate 2623/623 and is a member of both the Beazley plc and Beazley Furlonge Limited Boards. Clive has more than twenty five years experience in the marine insurance industry and is a member of the LMA Marine Committee and Chairman of the Joint War Committee.

Jonathan is a Director at Beazley, having joined the company in 1992. Jonathan sits on Beazley's Executive and PLC boards and leads the Property group today based in the UK, US and Asia. Jonathan entered Lloyd's in 1973 when he began his career as an Underwriting Assistant.

Martin joined Beazley as Group Finance Director in April 2009. Martin has extensive top level experience in the insurance sector and his twenty-three year career includes a number of senior level finance and general management roles including four years as a Director of a substantial London Market business. Martin trained as a property casualty actuary and became a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1988.

Neil is head of the group’s reinsurance division, chairman of the underwriting committee and has responsibility for the political risks and contingency group and accident and life division. Neil has 23 years of Lloyd’s experience. He joined Beazley in 1990 and is the active underwriter for the managed syndicates.

Nicholas is responsible for the risk management of the Beazley group. Nicholas is a co-founder of Beazley Furlonge Limited, and has 35 years’ experience at Lloyd’s and has recently been appointed as a nonexecutive director of the Lloyd’s Franchise Board. He is also chairman of the Lloyd’s Community Programme Management Board and a director of the LMA. He is also responsible for brand and communications and the ceded reinsurance department.

Non-Executive Directors

Jonathan Agnew is the chairman of the company. Jonathan was formerly a managing director of Morgan Stanley and subsequently chief executive of Kleinwort Benson. He has been chairman of Limit plc, Gerrard Group plc, and Nationwide Building Society. He is currently chairman of Ashmore Global Opportunities Limited, The Cayenne Trust plc and LMS Capital plc and senior independent director of Rightmove plc. He was a member of the Council of Lloyd’s from 1995 to 1998.

Vincent is currently chairman of the Truelife Group and a non-executive director of FBD Holdings Ltd. He retired as Chief Executive of Vhi Healthcare in 2008 and was previously Group Chief Executive of the Norwich Union Insurance Group in Ireland for ten years. He is the immediate past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and is a past president of the Irish Insurance Federation, the Insurance Institute of Ireland, and the Irish Association of Investment Managers. He was a director of the Irish Stock Exchange for nine years to June 2004.

Padraic O’Connor is currently chairman of the Irish Stock Exchange, chairman of Hewitt Associates in Ireland and a non-executive director of a number of companies including ACC Bank. Between 1999 and 2002, he served as non-executive chairman of ACC Bank, during which time he oversaw the reorientation of the bank’s strategy and its sale to the Rabobank Group. Prior to joining ACC Bank, he held a series of senior positions at NCB Group Limited, including group managing director. He retired from NCB in 1999. Mr O’Connor’s early career included roles in IBI Treasury, the Irish Central Bank and the Department of Finance. He holds a BA Hons (Economics and Politics), an MA (Econometrics, Statistics and Applied Economics), and a DPA from University College Dublin.

Andy Pomfret was appointed chief executive of Rathbone Brothers Plc in 2004 having held the position of finance director since 1999. Prior to that, he held positions at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co (now KPMG) and Kleinwort Benson.

Gordon Hamilton recently retired as a senior audit partner in Deloitte & Touche LLP after more than 30 years, principally involved with listed multi-national company audits and major forensic assignments. He is currently a director of the listed South African group Barloworld Limited, and is a member of the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP).

George Blunden became a Beazley plc non-executive director in January 2010, having served a non-executive director of Beazley Furlonge Ltd, Beazley’s Lloyd’s managing agency, since 1993. He has been actively involved in business development and financial investments for most of his career, holding senior positions at AllianceBernstein Ltd (from where he retired as Senior Vice President in December 2009); Union plc (CEO 1992-1997); SG Warburg Securities (Director 1985-1992); and Seccombe, Marshall and Campion plc (Director 1979-1985). He holds an MA from Oxford University in politics, philosophy and economics.