Clyde & Co appoints former Lloyd's boss Beale to its board

Insurance law firm Clyde & Co has appointed two independent board members (the equivalent of non-executive directors) to its management board – the first time such a position has been created at the firm.

Former Lloyd's of London CEO Dame Inga Beale and former Grant Thornton US CEO Stephen Chipman join Clyde & Co's Management Board on January 1, 2020.

Peter Hirst, senior partner at Clyde & Co, said: "Inga and Stephen’s appointments to our board are a significant move for us and send a very strong message to our clients that we are committed to placing their needs and interests at the heart of our decision-making. Inga will play an important role supporting our drive to materially improve diversity and inclusion across our firm to ensure we can offer clients the diversity of thought, talent and skills that they increasingly demand.

"Inga and Stephen are both well-known leaders in their fields and will provide us with objective and independent views, advice and constructive challenge to help inform our decision-making and ensure that the voice of the client is at the heart of our governance."

Inga Beale was CEO of Lloyd's of London between 2014 and 2018, during which she initiated a large-scale digital and cultural transformation programme and led its expansion into China, Dubai and India. She has held senior leadership positions across the insurance sector globally including as Group CEO at the re/insurance groups Canopius and Converium, and has previously held management positions at Zurich Insurance and GE Insurance Solutions. Beale will draw on her significant global experience to bring a client-centric perspective to the board, especially in relation to insurance.

Beale is also well-known within the London and wider insurance market as a champion of diversity, having increased female participation in senior management to one-third at Lloyd's and acting as one of the driving forces behind the Dive In Festival, a worldwide event that celebrates diversity and inclusion in the insurance sector. She will have a special focus on the firm's diversity and inclusion on the board.

Beale said: "Having worked in the insurance market over the course of four decades, joining the largest insurance law firm in the world represents a natural next step for me. I feel I can provide a client-side insight that will benefit Clyde & Co's management operations as well as the day-to-day work the firm does with clients."

In January, Clyde & Co launched an innovative training programme to ensure its female lawyers and senior staff are equipped with the skills and tools needed to build their profiles in today's fast moving, digitally-enabled world. Women make up nearly half (46 percent) of the lawyer population and one-quarter of partners at Clyde & Co.

Stephen Chipman has held senior roles across Grant Thornton for the past 20 years, most notably as CEO for the firm in the US and China. In 2016 he became CEO of technology-enabled business services company Radius and subsequently held the role of group managing director, International Expansion Services when Radius was acquired by international expansion consultancy and services company Vistra in 2018. Chipman will bring to the board his track record of the successful financial management of partnership organisations as well as his experience advising established and growing organisations across the globe.