Specialist legacy M&A firm DARAG appoints James Insley CFO

DARAG, a company that focuses on buying legacy firms, has hired James Insley to be CFO, reporting to Tom Booth, CEO, pending regulatory approval.

The appointment will be effective from September 2, 2019.

Current group CFO James Halley, who helped upscale the business’s strategic capital and was involved in the group’s recent expansion, will leave the business in mid-September.

Booth said: “James Halley helped complete the investment by Aleph and Crestview into DARAG, which was a crucial milestone in the delivery of our exciting expansion during the past year. James also built a finance team and brought in improved processes across the group which leave us very well equipped for the future. We are extremely grateful for his work during this recent transformational period as well as the deep experience and professionalism he brought to the role. James has decided to pursue other opportunities and we wish him very well, knowing that he will be an asset to any business he joins, as he has indeed been for DARAG during the past year.”

Insley joins the firm with 20 years of insurance industry experience. Most recently he was European CFO of the Warranty Group. Prior to joining the Warranty Group, he had a distinguished career at Brit, holding a succession of senior roles, including head of group financial performance and head of capital management. He started in insurance as assistant international controller at GE, before joining Swiss Re after GE Frankona was acquired by the Swiss reinsurer.

Booth commented: "DARAG continues to grow, with an excellent deal pipeline, the ongoing execution of which is raising the group’s profile, further adding to its excellent track record and bringing greater diversification, balance sheet strength and capital efficiency. James Insley is a deeply experienced and skilled finance professional in the insurance sector and we look forward to welcoming him as part of the management team as we continue to develop DARAG for the long term.

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