Gallagher CEO Matson sorry for ‘insensitive comments’ in Ardonagh row

Simon Matson, CEO of Gallagher’s UK broking and underwriting business, has apologised for “insensitive comments that were made by me and other individuals” that came to light in the recent litigation between Gallagher and Ardonagh Group.

The case centred on executives moving from one firm to the other, with claims from Gallagher that staff had been poached. Court papers revealed “hostile, unguarded” expletive-ridden internal exchanges at Gallagher.

One of the former Gallagher employees, Nawaf Hasan, was described by Matson in discriminatory terms as a “complicated fat Arab”, with the CEO quoted in the papers as saying he “would like to lose all of [Hasan] but the money”.

Hasan and the other former employees were repeatedly referred to as “c*unts”, “f*ckers” and “t*ssers” in the internal communications.

However, in statement from Gallgher, the firm said that now the case had concluded “we feel that it is an appropriate time to comment to set the record straight”.

Matson said: “We are incredibly proud of the strong and positive culture we have at Gallagher, something that is directly reflected in the exceptionally high scores our colleagues gave for important cultural indicators such as trust, respect, pride, diversity and advocacy, in our annual engagement survey, all of which have increased further in the last 12 months. As such, I am very sorry for the insensitive comments that were made by me and other individuals, which absolutely do not reflect the culture within our organisation.”

The company’s non-executive chairman of Gallagher’s UK Holdings Board Sue Langley said: “The UK board undertook a fundamental review with expert external input when this matter first came to light six months ago.

“At Gallagher we adopt the highest standards to promote an inclusive culture, and this will remain a priority for the board. We are committed to working in partnership with the market to cultivate a positive, diverse and inclusive insurance industry and we will be appointing a new head of CSR to work with our existing team to build momentum still further, internally and within the wider insurance market.”

The Ardonagh Group was contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.

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