Lloyd's of London's first female CEO to leave in 2019
Send a link to a friend
[June 29, 2018]
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London [SOLYD.UL]
Chief Executive Inga Beale, the commercial insurance market's first
female CEO, will leave next year, Lloyd's said on Friday.
Beale's departure from the centuries old insurance market comes amid
concerns that despite a modernization drive it is losing ground to rival
centers such as Singapore and failing to stem losses.
The exact date of her departure has not yet been set but the search for
her successor is already underway, Lloyd's said in a statement,
following an earlier report in The Insurance Insider.
"Leading Lloyd's is an honor and I am proud to have played a part in
ensuring that it remains relevant and fit for purpose for the future,"
Beale said in the statement.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/29/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
Lloyd's of London, which started life in Edward Lloyd's coffee house in
1688, focuses on specialized insurance risks, from oil rigs to
footballers' legs.
Beale was appointed chief executive in January 2014 and has led a push
for a more diverse workforce in the market, which is made up of more
than 80 insurance syndicates.
Beale has also encouraged a move to electronic processing, with plans to
ditch most paper trades by the end of next year. Insurance staff
traditionally carry their documentation around the 14-storey Lloyd's
building in the City of London in briefcases or even suitcases.
"Her boldness and persistence have generated the momentum required to
bring about real change," Bruce Carnegie-Brown, who became chairman last
year, said in the statement.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/062918pics/busine49.jpg)
Lloyd's Chief Executive
Officer Inga Beale attends an interview in Hong Kong, China January
15, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/29/images/ads/current/Mcquellons_sda_daily_HI-2015.png)
Lloyd's is reviewing costs after a series of natural catastrophes drove it to a
2 billion pound ($2.63 billion) loss last year, and is asking syndicates to
provide action plans for their least profitable areas of business.
A report last year showed the London insurance and reinsurance markets were
losing out to other centers such as Bermuda and Singapore.
"(Beale) has tried to push through change and more transparency with the new
platforms and has come up against resistance from traditional segments of the
market," said one financial services source.
"There is a real need for change, given the threats from other places to
London's position."
An insurance source said he hoped that Lloyd's would appoint "another
imaginative and ideally female CEO - but it will probably be another bloke with
braces".
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in London and Justin George Varghese in
Bengaluru; editing by Simon Jessop and Louise Heavens)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/29/images/ads/current/Guzzardos_sda_RELAY_2018.png)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Jun/29/images/ads/current/ldn_business_directory_small_2016.png) |