Covéa Insurance signals growth ambitions with renewed focus on people and technology

Covéa Insurance is pleased to announce two new appointments to its executive team, which enhance the team’s capabilities and focus on the critical areas of people and technology.  Both are internal promotions; Lisa Meigh as People Director and Graeme Howard as Chief Technology & Information Officer (CTIO).  Both will report to Covéa Insurance Chief Operating Officer, Adrian Furness. 

Commenting on this significant development, Adrian Furness said:

“Covéa Insurance is on an exciting journey that’s seen it transformed as an organisation over the last five years.  To continue that journey, and deliver on our long-term ambitions for the business, it’s essential that we have in place a senior team with the expertise, experience and accountabilities that will enable us to successfully address the challenges of a new decade.”

“With commitment to customer service remaining our central long-term purpose, we see considerable opportunities to capitalise on new technologies and accelerate their rollout to transform the experience we offer customers.  Supporting this, we fundamentally believe in the value of investing in our people, creating an inclusive environment and exploring new innovative ways to ensure we attract the most talented and creative individuals with the skills we need for the future.  Lisa and Graeme both have fantastic track records in these areas, and we’re delighted to welcome them to our executive team.”

Lisa’s background

Lisa has been Covéa Insurance’s Director of HR & Learning since 2015, having been with the company, and its predecessor, Provident Insurance, since 1995.

Lisa has led Covéa’s people strategy to attract, develop and retain great talent; fostering a culture of growth and individual development by leading real business change.  She is a passionate and inspirational advocate for creating an inclusive culture that embraces diversity and instilling an environment where people can thrive.  Lisa has driven the company’s inclusion journey, implementing its ‘inspire leading women’ programme, inclusion and unconscious bias learning, and promoting greater access to flexible working for all.  

Externally, Lisa has developed a number of important partnerships, supporting the launch of Leeds Becket University’s ‘Women in Leadership’ programme, the first of its kind in the sector.  Lisa has also collaborated with Luke Ambler of Andy’s Man Club, to inspire an open culture at Covéa and promote positive mental health across the business.  Lisa’s team are also partnering with PwC’s #techshecan initiative to encourage women to consider technical careers and ‘Stemettes’, an initiative to encourage young women and girls to consider choosing STEM career paths.

Graeme’s background

Graeme joined Covéa Insurance in February 2019 as Chief Technology & Information Officer (CTIO), with responsibility for leading and evolving Covéa Insurance’s technology transformation and innovation strategies, as well as driving improvements in delivery and services for the benefit of both internal and external customers.

Prior to this, Graeme held a number of director level roles at Motorola Solutions Ltd and, most recently, was Group CIO at Santa Fe Relocation Ltd.  During his two years at the company, he led the creation of a global operating platform that provides a company-wide view of operational data and a rich source of analytics. He also rebuilt the technology organisation structure to support the day-to-day operations of the systems used by 3,000 staff across 96 offices.  Graeme has been recognised on the 2019 top CIO 100 list of the most transformational and disruptive technology leaders.  https://www.cio.co.uk/cio100/

The full Covéa Insurance leadership team can be found here: https://www.coveainsurance.co.uk/news-hub/our-experts/

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About Covéa Insurance

Covéa Insurance Plc is the UK underwriting business of leading French mutual insurance group Covéa (which includes the global reinsurer PartnerRe since July 2022). 

Covéa Insurance looks after the insurance needs of UK customers, across a range of product lines; delivering financial reassurance through its Standard & Poor’s ‘AA- stable’ rating, as a guaranteed subsidiary of Covéa.  

Covéa Insurance has a strong people and service ethos and holds ServiceMark accreditation with Distinction for its Personal Lines operation and its Commercial & HNW Claims teams, as well as Chartered Insurer status for its Commercial business. Covéa Insurance is signatory to the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and the insurance Inclusivity Pledge and has been named one of the top 75 employers in West Yorkshire & the Humber. In 2022 Covéa Insurance was named Insurer of the Year at the British Claims Awards and Personal Lines Insurer of the Year at the Insurance Times Awards.