Gallagher has announced the appointment of Carl Oakes as business development director.
In his new role, Carl is responsible for developing relationships with a range of organisations, both large and small, to support them in providing insurance solutions for their customers. Reporting to David Birch, managing director of SME & partnerships in Gallagher’s UK Retail Division, Carl’s appointment reflects Gallagher’s commitment to building on its existing partnerships presence across both personal and commercial lines.
Prior to joining Gallagher, Carl held a number of senior roles in Legal & General, most recently as head of new products within its general insurance business, responsible for the creation of new proposition strategies to grow its personal lines offering. He has experience of the broking sector having previously been head of partner broker, which saw him running Legal & General’s broking business and associated P&L. Carl has also held senior sales and relationship roles at Cardiff Pinnacle, part of BNP Paribas, and banking specialist, MBNA.
Gallagher has a number of specialisms in partnerships which include an affinity relationships team which works with some of the UK’s largest financial services brands, providing insurance solutions for commercial customers and individuals; Brand Partners which works with mainstream insurance brands to provide cover for customers whose risks are not within their standard underwriting appetite; and finally, through its SME team, Gallagher works with a range of niche organisations to provide insurance to their members and customers.
Commenting on his appointment, Carl, said: “There are extensive opportunities for Gallagher to build out its affinity partnership base and I am delighted to have joined the team. We already have some of the biggest household insurance and financial lines names working with us, and with our extensive personal lines and commercial insurer relationships, I believe that we make an ideal partner for organisations who want to build and retain a positive relationship with customers, by offering value adding insurance solutions via Gallagher.”
David added: “I am delighted to welcome Carl to our partnerships team. Our offering is built on a collaborative approach with partners, and Carl’s background across insurance and financial services in sales, product development and strategic partnerships makes him the ideal person to build and grow this key part of our offering. By working with us, our partners are able to give customers a positive brand experience by meeting all of their insurance needs and increased flexibility to help new and existing customers.”