2023 Advisory Board

Paul has been an insurance broker for over 30 years and is Group Chief Executive Officer of Seventeen Group, which owns James Hallam Insurance Brokers, Touchstone Underwriting and London Re

Seventeen Group is passionately independent and employs over 350 staff throughout the UK. All of the shareholders and Directors of Seventeen Group are actively involved in the business and from the insurance profession by background.

Paul was previously a BIBA main board member and Chaired the BIBA Insurance Brokers Standards Committee. He currently sits on the board of Una Alliance which is a non-profit making company owned by its insurance broker members.

Outside of business, Paul is married with 4 children and lives near Devizes in Wiltshire. He has been involved in coaching and leadership training on a voluntary basis for a number of years and is a Saracens rugby supporter, fisherman and sometime golfer.  
 

After an early career as a university lecturer in economics, where he was also an examiner for the Institute of Bankers & Trustee Savings Bank, Ashley left to establish an insurance & financial services brokerage in London & latterly in New York.  He was a non-executive director of Mysis Insurance Marketing & was responsible for the research which led to the establishment of one of the earliest life networks. He has been a past director of BIBA & for the past 6 years represented brokers at the FCA. The business remains fiercely independent and is a top 100 independent broker. The company specialises in commercial & high net worth insurance, although it also offers group benefits & private medical insurance. It recognised very early the importance of cyber risks & set up its own on-line quote & buy facility as a coverholder, available to both their own clients & other brokers.

Emily graduated from Bangor University, North Wales in 2003 and started her career soon afterwards with Zurich Insurance as a graduate trainee. She soon realised that she wanted to represent the client, not the insurer and started working for an independent broker in 2005. This business was bought out by larger businesses during the 13 years Emily spent with the company. She is passionate about improving the profession and believes there is a wealth of opportunity to do so. As such she gets involved in the professional bodies to do just that. She is currently working on the New Generation Programme for the Chartered Insurance Institute looking at ways the broking community can support clients to rebuild public trust in our sector.

She is also a passionate runner having completed marathons in London, Berlin, Newport, Taunton, Gloucester, and Bournemouth!