Leadership change at AEGIS London as CEO steps down; profit jumps 45% in 2021 on tighter underwriting discipline

Lloyd’s managing agency  AEGIS London, one of the best-performing quartile of syndicates at Lloyd’s, has revealed that its long-serving chief executive officer (CEO) David Croom-Johnson is stepping down, handing over the reins to its chief underwriting officer (CUO) Alex Powell (pictured left). The announcement comes as the company delivered a solid 45% increase in its 2021 profits driven by tighter underwriting discipline.

Croom-Johnson has served the company for over 20 years, including the last seven years as its CEO. He is set to retire at the end of June and will be succeeded by Powell, subject to regulatory approval.

Meanwhile, Matthew Yeldham (pictured right) will be promoted to CUO in July, taking over the role from Powell. Yeldham has been deputy CUO since 2015, having joined AEGIS London in 2010. Previously, he held senior positions in the London insurance market, including Aspen Insurance Group and Wellington Underwriting.

AEGIS London reported a Syndicate profit of £87 million and a combined ratio of 83.9% for 2021. The profit was up £27 million on 2020’s figure of £60 million, while the combined ratio improves by 7.7 points on 2020’s ratio of 91.6%.

“This is a strong result and  testimony  to  our  core  principle  of  disciplined underwriting,” said Croom-Johnson.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to lead AEGIS London over the past 7 years and now seems the natural time to step aside. I will be leaving the Syndicate as a top quartile performer in the excellent hands of a high-quality management team led by Alex with whom I have worked for many years  and  who  has  been a  major contributor  to our  success  to  date.”

The company has delivered consistently profitable results during Croom-Johnson’s tenure as CEO and written premiums gross of commissions have grown by 132% since 2015.

Bill Cullen, president and CEO of AEGIS, thanked Croom-Johnson for his 20 years of service and all of his contributions to the Syndicate’s success.

Tom Busher,  non-executive chair of AEGIS  London,  added: “I  would  like  to  thank  David  for  his commitment to AEGIS and to the development of the Syndicate and its employees. He has helped to create and lead a first-class business during a period of significant change, all the while displaying his customary humanity. Busher continued, “In Alex we have a worthy successor who will carry forward the Syndicate’s hallmark reputation for continuity, client service and sustainable underwriting excellence.”

Powell said: “I am delighted to take up the leadership of our talented team at AEGIS London. The success of the business, under David’s stewardship, has been deeply rooted in a strong culture of underwriting discipline and empowerment and I am keen that we not only preserve this foundation but build on it to provide our future success.”

Commenting on Yeldham's appointment, he added: “In line with our succession plan, Matthew’s appointment is the obvious choice, given his long-standing tenure on the AEGIS London Board of Directors and the depth of his underwriting knowledge and experience. He is well placed to help in our pursuit of a broad digitisation, automation and data led strategic agenda across all functions of the business, which will support our ambitions to be a dynamic underwriting platform at the forefront of our markets. ”

Yeldham commented: “I look forward to stepping into the position of AEGIS London CUO later this year as we continue our strategy to deliver sustainable underwriting profit. With so much underwriting talent in our business, I am as committed as I always have been to maintaining our success.”

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