Pen appoints new chief exec as Mark Armitage moves back to broking with Gallagher

Pen Underwriting has appointed Jonathan Turner, currently executive chairman at the firm, to the role of chief executive following the departure of current managing director Mark Armitage who joins Arthur J Gallagher – the parent of Pen Underwriting.

The move will see Turner, who joined the company as executive chairman in September 2015, assume full day-to-day management for Pen.

Armitage will join Arthur J Gallagher’s UK Retail operations to assume the role of managing director, broking and placement.

Grahame Chilton, International CEO of Arthur J Gallagher, said: “Under Mark’s steerage the team has brought together and integrated a collection of some of the best known and respected UK underwriters and built one strong, specialist underwriting business that is now the second largest MGA in the UK.

“That is an incredible achievement in just 18 months and gives Pen, and Jon, solid foundations on which to now build out the strategic growth plans he has been spearheading as executive chairman of Pen. Core objectives include further international expansion and development of Pen’s specialist underwriting portfolio, and looking at alternative ways to provide capacity for our customers.”

Turner added: “Since joining Pen 16 months ago the business has been on an incredible journey towards our ambition to become the pre-eminent virtual insurer. The principles set out by Mark that underpin and exist in the business today provide the cultural and structural blueprint on which to now accelerate the wider strategy we began to execute in 2016.

"We’ve already started to take Pen into new geographies, such as the North American Property market, and are continuing to build out new capabilities, classes and lines of business as demonstrated by our recently refreshed recruitment offering and the imminent introduction of the Pen cyber product. I am really excited to be picking up the reins at such a pivotal point in the Pen story.”

Armitage added: “Pen is a trading underwriting business that offers a fantastic blend of expertise, specialist knowledge and distribution, all fashioned around a team of dedicated underwriters who add value to our customers at every stage of the underwriting process. That is Pen’s point of differentiation and I am incredibly proud of the business we have built together.

"For me, it is back to broking within Arthur J Gallagher’s UK Retail division, from where I look forward to watching Pen’s ongoing transformation under Jon’s leadership.”

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.