AXA’s Managing Director of Commercial Intermediary, Matthew Reed, is to take on a new role within AXA Group Property and Casualty, commencing 1st July.
He will be succeeded by Jon Walker most recently Managing Director of Bluefin’s personal lines business and formerly CEO of Towergate Retail Broking.
Following three years leading AXA’s UK commercial broker proposition, Reed has accepted a position investigating global SME opportunities in new geographies within AXA Group.
This is a great opportunity for Matthew to take the SME expertise we have developed here in the UK out to the wider group and it is a real endorsement of the progress we have made since 2011.
Obviously we will be sad to see him go but he is staying within the wider AXA family and I’m delighted that Jon has accepted the opportunity to come over and develop our commercial offering.
I have worked closely with Jon in the past and I am confident he will bring his own perspective and approach to the role which will cement our position as one of the leading SME insurers in the UK.
It won’t be easy to leave the team here but this is a huge opportunity for me and for AXA as we seek to take the best practice established in the UK and apply it elsewhere across the group.
AXA has really started to dominate the SME market in the UK but there are still many opportunities to increase the footprint and broaden the offering to brokers.
The recent investment in the regional branch operation is an encouraging sign that not only does the proposition work for brokers but that AXA is committed to further investment in that regional structure.
Coming from a broker background, I’d like to think I have an understanding of how they work, what they want from an insurer and, perhaps more importantly, what they don’t want from an insurer and I am very much looking forward to getting started.