Marsh to rebrand Jelf, appoint new leaders as it seeks simpler structure and growth in the UK

Broker Marsh will rename its Jelf business as Marsh Commercial in the first quarter of 2020 and a appoint new leadership team, in a move aimed at strengthing its offering in the local UK market, and streamlining its organisational structure.

Marsh Commercial will serve clients across three regions: North of England, South of England & Wales and Scotland & Northern Ireland as well as through its employee health and benefits (EH&B); markets and networks; schemes and affinities; and private client businesses.

Additionally, Marsh Commercial will create Enterprise Centres of Excellence around the UK that will be focused on providing smaller organisations with access to "world-class risk and insurance advice".

As part of the leadership changes, Marsh Commercial’s EH&B business, which is part of Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB), will be led by Rachel Riley who is currently MMB’s leader for small and mid-size enterprises.

Amanda Walton is appointed CEO of Marsh Commercial’s Enterprise Centre of Excellence, which will also include its schemes and affinities business. In her previous role at Jelf, Walton was managing director for the North region and client advisory services.

In the regions, Mike Owen will become CEO of the South of England & Wales region, Jonathan Webb will become CEO of the North of England region and Ben Bailey CEO of the Scotland & Northern Ireland region. Owen was formerly Jelf’s MD for the South, Webb was head of Marsh’s Leeds office and Bailey was MD for Jelf’s Scotland & The Lakes region.

With the completion of the acquisition of JLT in April this year, and following on from the acquisitions of Bluefin in 2017 and Clark Thomson in 2018, the broker hopes Marsh Commercial will strengthen its offering in the local UK market.

“Since my appointment in May, I have been travelling the country asking our talented colleagues how we can better serve clients. As organisations have faced an increasingly complex landscape of risk issues, Jelf colleagues have worked collaboratively with those in Marsh to call on their wide ranging and global expertise. By including the Marsh name in ours, we make accessing that wider offering more seamless for those we serve," said Anthony Gruppo, CEO of Jelf.

He added: “From Kirkwall to Plymouth, our colleagues told me that they want a simpler structure that brings decision making closer to the client. By co-locating colleagues where existing offices are close together we will strengthen our local presence thereby enhancing and building on the unrivalled offering we provide."

Gruppo concluded: “Marsh Commercial is a diverse community of colleagues serving a diverse community of clients. With this experienced leadership team, who will all report to me, we are well-placed to enhance our offering to clients and give our colleagues great opportunities to grow their careers.”