Howden snaps up key executive hire

Howden has appointed London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) chief operating officer and integration head David Shalders (pictured) as group COO.

Shalders is joining the global insurance group once his contractual obligations to LSEG have been discharged. He will be part of Howden’s global leadership team while serving as an executive member of the board.

“Howden’s unique capital model coupled with a global distribution platform built over decades and filled with talent and expertise have positioned it as a business that does things differently for clients,” the London-based hire said in an emailed release.

“Already the largest privately-held insurance intermediary outside North America, its growth story is phenomenal – a 30-year CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 25% is extraordinary in any book. But excitingly it has an even more extraordinary opportunity ahead of it to accelerate.

“From our first meetings, I felt the energy to do more, and to do it with a difference, and I am excited to be a part of that future.”

The incoming leader, who was group operations and technology director at WTW, has more than three decades of experience in integration, technology, and operations in the financial services sector. His credentials include time spent at The Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, JPMorgan, and Accenture.

“As we celebrate our 30th anniversary as a business of global scale and reach, David will help us to deliver our ambitious growth plans without compromising the special culture that we have spent the last 30 years building,” chief executive David Howden said.

“This is the first time we have appointed a group chief operating officer to the board, and this important move is a reflection of our scale and the ambition we have to be at the leading edge of the insurance industry.”

The CEO continued: “Most importantly, David is a growth COO. He has spent his career delivering strategies across multinational operations, data, and analytics to support commercial growth. He will provide important leadership as we grow scalable, consistent, world-class operations while preserving the empowerment which makes us dynamic and innovative.

“This balance is critical and, in that regard, David will support me as we continue to harness our strengths as one Howden.”

Manned by around 16,000 people, Howden operates in 50 countries. The group handles $35 billion of premium on behalf of clients.

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