British Managing General Agent (MGA), Pen Underwriting has announced the appointment of Seb Simmonds as Managing Director of its Public Sector division, which includes the specialist business Risk Management Partners (RMP).
With effect on 1 March and subject to regulatory approval, Simmonds will take on the strategic and operational leadership of the division, upon the retirement of current divisional MD Nick Colyer, and join the Pen Executive team.
Having been with Pen since its very beginning, Seb brings two decades of experience to the role, the vast majority of which have been in the specialist field of schemes and MGA.
Within Pen, he has held various leadership roles, he currently is MD of Risk Managed Commercial at Pen – a role he has held since 2020. He also managed the Delegated Commercial team and its 80 sub-delegated arrangements across property and liability schemes for five years.
Simmonds commented: “I’m excited to be taking on the mantle of the public sector business from Nick who has been instrumental to its growth, diversification and success. He leaves it in brilliant shape with a fantastic, well-respected team of specialist underwriters and I look forward to consolidating our strong position in existing markets as well as innovating and expanding into new ones.”
Tom Downey, CEO of Pen Underwriting, said: “Seb’s proven leadership capabilities, extensive knowledge of Pen and great reputation with our capacity partners, made him a natural successor to Nick as leader of our large Public Sector division. In a relatively short period, Seb has transformed the Risk Managed Commercial business in terms of capacity, operations and underwriting performance – and these disciplines will be equally crucial to the ongoing success of our public sector, higher education and social housing business.
“Seb’s promotion is testament, therefore, not only to the internal talent we have within Pen but also a great example of the value we place on leaders bringing their knowledge and insight to bear on new areas of the business, where colleagues, brokers, coverholders and capacity alike will benefit from their breadth of experience.
Pen also confirmed that “it will retain the expertise, insight and experience of Nick Colyer in an advisory capacity, as he takes on the role of Chair of RMP.”
Downey added: “On behalf of the whole business, I would also like to say a massive thank you to Nick who has been an inspirational leader for the wider public sector business as part of the Pen family, and the driving force behind RMP’s exponential growth since becoming MD of the business back in 2012. We’re delighted to be retaining his specialist knowledge and wisdom in his capacity as Chair of RMP.”
Colyer said: “The public sector marketplace has always been challenging, and yet the team demonstrates every day the discipline and execution needed to manage growth, retention and profitability. It’s testament to them that we have achieved what we have, and I am incredibly fortunate to have been surrounded by such talented individuals throughout my career. I am proud of the resilient business we have created, and look forward to watching the business flourish and evolve under Seb’s leadership.”
