Direct Line Group plc is an insurance company based in the United Kingdom, formed in 2012 by the divestment of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group's insurance division, through an initial public offering.

Insurance

Direct Line Group

Vicky is Chief People Officer at [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) and has a wealth of experience in building HR functions, developing cultural frameworks and enhancing people capabilities.

Vicky joins the Group having worked previously at Santander where she was the HR Director for five years. Having operated in international organisations with global roles and projects in India, Romania, EMEA and the US, Vicky has experience in finance, retail and mobile telecommunications.

Vicky is CIPD qualified and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Organisational Leadership.  

Vicky Wallis

Sebastian James joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in August 2014 and is Chair of the Corporate Responsibility Committee.

The Board benefits from Sebastian’s extensive experience in retail and consumer practice at large groups, his detailed understanding of the UK consumer markets, products and brands as well has his strategic and operational experience running Dixons Carphone plc and Boots.

Until 2018, Sebastian was Group Chief Executive of Dixons Carphone plc, having previously held the role of Group Chief Executive of Dixons Retail plc from 2012. Before this, he was CEO of Synergy Insurance Services Limited, a private equity backed insurance company, and was previously Strategy Director at Mothercare plc. Sebastian has a degree in law from the [University of Oxford](/org/university-of-oxford) and an MBA from [INSEAD](/org/insead). He began his career at The Boston Consulting Group. 

Sebastian is President and Managing Director of Boots, and Senior Vice President of Walgreen Boots Alliance, Inc. He is also a Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art Limited.



Sebastian James

Penny joined the Board as an Executive Director in November 2017. Penny was CFO of [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) until her appointment as CEO in May 2019. The Board benefits from Penny’s deep understanding of our sector as well as her leadership skills, financial and risk expertise, strategic thinking and cultural alignment. As CEO, Penny is leading both the delivery of the Group’s short-term strategic imperatives, including technological and business transformation, and the development of the next stage of our strategy of targeting long-term sustainability.

Penny was previously Group Chief Risk Officer and Executive Director at [Prudential](/org/prudential-plc) plc, where she was responsible for leading risk oversight globally. Before this, she was Director of Group Finance at [Prudential](/org/prudential-plc). Penny was previously Group CFO at Omega Insurance Holdings Limited and CFO, UK General Insurance, at Zurich Financial Services. She was a NED of Admiral Group plc from 2015 to 2017. She is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

She is a member of the Association of British Insurers Board and the FCA Practitioner Panel.

Penny James

Danuta joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in February 2017 and was appointed as Chair in August 2020. The Board benefits from her previous experience as Chairman, Chief Executive and NED (including two positions as Chairs of Remuneration Committees), significant experience in sales, marketing, customer services and technology and in leading and changing large businesses.

Danuta was Chairman of [Telefónica](/org/telefonica) in Ireland until 2012, having previously been its Chief Executive from 2001 to 2010. During her nine-year tenure as Chief Executive, she increased the customer base from just under 1 million to over 1.7 million. Before working at [Telefónica](/org/telefonica), Danuta held various senior positions within BT Group from 1984 to 2001. Until 2018, Danuta was a NED and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee at both PageGroup plc and Old Mutual plc.

Danuta is Non-Executive Chair of St. Modwen Properties plc. She is also SID of Aldermore Group plc and a Non-Executive Member of the Defence Board of the UK [Ministry of Defence](/org/army-hq). 

Danuta Gray

Neil Manser was appointed as CFO on 13 May 2021.  He joined [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) in 2011 as Director of Investor Relations and was instrumental in the Group’s successful IPO in 2012.

He has worked in a number of roles within the Group, in Finance including Strategy and within the business, as Managing Director of NIG. Neil was appointed Deputy CFO in August 2018 before becoming Chief Strategy Officer in March 2020. He is now responsible for leading the Group's corporate strategy.

Neil has extensive industry and capital markets experience prior to joining the Group having previously worked at [Brit Insurance](/org/brit-insurance) and as an equity analyst at Merrill Lynch and Fox-Pitt, Kelton. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Neil Manser

Dr. Richard Ward joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director in January 2016.

Richard’s previous experience as a Chief Executive, a NED and a Chairman makes him well suited to the role of SID of the Company. The Board benefits from his experience in the insurance industry and his insight into prudential regulation.

Richard was Chief Executive of Lloyd’s of London from 2006 to 2013. He was Non-Executive Chairman of Brit Syndicates Limited and Executive Chairman of Cunningham Lindsey from 2014 to 2018. He was a NED of Partnership Assurance Group plc, now part of Just Group plc, between 2013 and 2016. Before being Chief Executive of Lloyd’s of London he was previously Chief Executive, later Vice Chairman, of the International Petroleum Exchange, rebranded ICE Futures. Before this, he held a range of senior positions at British Petroleum and was a research scientist for the Science and Engineering Council. Richard was also a NED of London Clearing House, a member of the PwC Advisory Board and a Board member of the Geneva Association. 

Richard holds a general advisory role for the Ardonagh Group.

Richard Ward

Gregor Stewart joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in March 2018 and is Chair of the Audit Committee.

The Board benefits from his wide-ranging experience of the financial services sector, and in particular, significant experience gained in the insurance and investment management sectors. His career and experiences at Ernst & Young and Lloyds, in particular, make him suitable to chair the Audit Committee.

Gregor worked at Ernst & Young for 23 years, including 10 years as a partner in the financial services practice. Following his career at Ernst & Young, he was Finance Director for the Insurance division at Lloyds Banking Group plc, which included [Scottish Widows](/org/scottish-widows), from 2009 to 2012. Gregor is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Gregor is Chairman of Alliance Trust plc, a NED of FNZ Group and Chairman of FNZ UK Limited. 

Gregor Stewart

Kate joined [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) in 2000 and is Managing Director of Household, Partnerships & Data. Kate has over 18 years’ experience of the insurance industry. Kate is responsible for delivering the strategy and developing products for the Group’s Home, Pet, Travel, Life and Private Businesses as well as leading the Partnerships division. She is Chair of the Group’s Diversity Network Alliance.

Previously, Kate was Commercial & Marketing Director for Privilege and launched Direct Line for Business in 2007. Before joining the Group, Kate held roles in Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Moore Stephens – Vladivostok and is qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the National Audit Office. She is also an Associate of the Royal College of Science.

Kate Syred

Humphrey joined the Group in 2011 and is General Counsel.

Humphrey has over 25 years’ experience as a solicitor. He is responsible for the Group Legal function and oversees a range of areas of legal advice and services.

Humphrey’s experience includes advising on corporate and commercial matters, steering corporate transactions in the UK and internationally, managing legal risk and dealing with corporate governance issues. Before joining the Group, Humphrey was Group Legal Director at RSA and prior to that he was a corporate lawyer with the City law firm, Ashurst Morris Crisp. 

Humphrey Tomlinson

Jonathan joined the Group in 2000 and is Managing Director, Commercial.

Jonathan has over 30 years’ experience of the insurance industry. He is responsible for delivering the Commercial strategy, developing customer propositions, enhancing the Commercial brands and delivering efficiencies within the Commercial businesses.

Jonathan was previously Managing Director of the Group’s household and life businesses. He joined the Group as Product and Pricing Director for UK Partnerships. Before joining the Group, Jonathan held roles at HBOS, MBNA and Pinnacle.

Jonathan Greenwood

Mark joined [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) in 2012 and is Managing Director of Marketing & Digital. He is responsible for leading the Group’s Marketing and Digital functions. Before joining the Group, Mark held roles at [HSBC](/org/hsbc), 118 118 (now 118 118 Money) and Mars Inc. He is Chair of the Advertising Association’s Front Foot and a NED of LearnEtAl, an EdTech digital learning company. Mark is also co-founder of the School of Marketing which encourages more school children to consider a career in Marketing.

Mark is a member of Save the Children’s Digital Advisory Board and also a Fellow of the Marketing Society

Mark Evans

Mark Gregory joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in March 2018 and is Chair of the Investment Committee and interim Chair of the Remuneration Committee.

The Board benefits from his previous extensive experience and knowledge of the financial services sector, particularly in life and general insurance, gained through his roles at [Legal & General](/org/legal-general-group-plc). Additionally, he has a detailed understanding of the retail sector and customer service.

Mark previously held the role of Group CFO and Executive Director at [Legal & General](/org/legal-general-group-plc) Group plc (“Legal & General”) until 2017. During his 19-year career at [Legal & General](/org/legal-general-group-plc), he held a variety of senior roles including CEO of the Savings business, Managing Director of the With-Profits business, and Resources and International Director. Before joining [Legal & General](/org/legal-general-group-plc), Mark held senior financial and business development roles at [ASDA](/org/asda) and [Kingfisher](/org/kingfisher). Mark is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

Mark Gregory

Fiona McBain joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in September 2018.

The Board benefits from Fiona’s profound knowledge of the financial services industry and her previous extensive experience as both a business leader and an auditor makes her well suited to her role as a member of the Audit and Board Risk Committees.

Fiona has over 30 years’ experience in retail financial services, in the industry and as an auditor, in the UK and the USA. She is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, qualifying as an accountant early on in her career at Arthur Young (now EY). Until January 2019 she was Vice-Chairman of Save the Children UK and a Trustee Director of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy. Previously, Fiona served as CEO of Scottish Friendly Group for 11 years, before which she was Scottish Friendly Group’s Finance Director. 

Fiona is currently Chairman of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust plc and Non-Executive Director of Dixons Carphone plc.  She is also a NED of Monzo Bank Limited.



Fiona McBain

Adrian Joseph was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2021. He joined BT Group in February 2020 as Managing Director, Group Data and Artificial Intelligence. Prior to this he was a senior Partner at EY for three years and the Head of the UK Data and Analytics practice for Financial Services. He joined EY with over ten year’s cloud, digital, platform, data science and analytics experience gained in senior leadership roles at Google, and a further 15 years in industry and consultancy. This included two years as the main Board member responsible for Sales and Marketing at Trafficmaster Plc.

Adrian was also a Non-Executive Director at the Home Office from 2016 to 2020, where he sat on the Home Office Data Board and advised on data science, digital transformation, and diversity and inclusion. From January 2012-2017, Adrian was Chair of the Race Equality Board, the race campaign of Business in the Community charity. In 2014 he was appointed to the main Board of Business in the Community and he continues to serve as an Advisor. He was awarded an OBE for services to equality and diversity in business in the 2019 New Year’s honours list and was announced as the most influential black, Asian and minority ethnic technology leader in the UK by the [Financial Times](/org/financial-times) and Inclusive Boards in 2018.

Adrian’s expertise in data, AI and automation, as well as his passionate advocacy for diversity and inclusion, benefit the Board as it oversees the execution of a strategy of which these issues are a fundamental part.

Adrian Joseph Obe

Aurore Lecanon is the Chief Risk Officer, having joined [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) in November 2021.

She is a senior risk leader with over 18 years’ experience with global insurers and investment banks, with deep technical, market and commercial knowledge of the insurance and savings industry in first and second line roles, in the UK and Ireland.

Before joining DLG, she had a number of Risk roles at M&G/ [Prudential](/org/prudential-plc) including Chief Risk and Compliance Officer of [Prudential](/org/prudential-plc) International Assurance where she led the Risk & Compliance functions across [Prudential](/org/prudential-plc) European businesses, Transformation Risk Director for the Group and Financial Risk Director of the UK insurance business. Before joining [Prudential](/org/prudential-plc), she was Head of Asset Liability Management at Old Mutual plc and also worked in investment banking, at [Credit Suisse](/org/credit-suisse) where she covered large UK insurance companies within the Insurance & Pensions Solutions team and at [Société Générale](/org/societe-generale) in London where she focused on structuring insurance-linked financing and risk transfers.

She holds a Masters in Stochastic Mathematics and Financial Engineering from [Princeton University](/org/princeton) and the University of Paris VI and is a graduate of the [Ecole Polytechnique](/org/ecole-polytechnique) and the Ecole Nationale Superieure of Economics and Statistics in France.

Aurore Lecanon

Jasvinder joined [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) in 2005 and is Managing Director for Motor.

Jasvinder was appointed as Chief Strategy Officer in May 2021.
Before stepping into the Chief Strategy Officer role, she was Managing Director of Direct Line for Business, leading the growth of the direct Commercial Insurance business.

Prior to this Jasvinder held roles leading the Pet Insurance portfolio, Head of Direct Line Home and across the Partnerships business. Before joining [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group), Jasvinder was a maths teacher.

Jasvinder Gakhal

Jessie Burrows is Managing Director of Claims at [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) and is responsible for all aspects of personal lines and commercial lines claims and the Group’s counter-fraud activities. Jessie has been with [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group) for 5 years and leads around 5,000 employees across the group. Her focus is very much about creating value for customers by focussing on providing customers with an exceptional service and easy claims journey.

Prior to joining [Direct Line Group](/org/direct-line-group), Jessie was at [Aviva](/org/aviva-plc) plc for 13 years and rose to Director of Financial Planning and Analysis and Chief Accounting officer in the UKGI business, having been Head of Group Investor Relations and Director of Group Financial Reporting and Planning.  Jessie joined [Aviva](/org/aviva-plc) from [KPMG](/org/kpmg) and is an associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales.

Jessie Burrows

Tracy Corrigan joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 November 2021.

The Board benefits from Tracy’s professional background in the media industry, which spans ﬁnancial journalism, digital media and corporate strategy.

Tracy worked for [News Corp](/org/news-corp) for nine years, ﬁrst as Editor in Chief, Europe, then as Digital Editor of [The Wall Street Journal](/org/the-wall-street-journal). Most recently, as Chief Strategy Oﬃcer of [Dow Jones](/org/dow-jones), she was responsible for global strategy, customer insight and analytics, M&A and commercial policy, overseeing the digital transformation of the business during a period of signiﬁcant growth in digital and recurring revenues.

In previous roles, Tracy was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and held various positions for The Financial Times, including Editor of the Lex Column and Editor of FT.com. She graduated in Modern Languages from St Catherine’s College, Oxford.

Tracy Corrigan

Ash has over 20 years’ experience navigating and delivering cultural technological transformation that underpins growth, by creating beautifully resolved customer driven journeys.  He is passionate about Technology and diversity. 

Ash joins the Group having previously re-imagined [Virgin Atlantic](/org/virgin-atlantic)’s technology & data strategy as CIO. Prior to this he was UK & Ireland CIO at [Centrica](/org/centrica), British Gas and Bord Gais. Additionally, he has 10 years’ experience in Telecommunications, delivering new product journeys at [TalkTalk](/org/talktalk), [Tiscali](/org/tiscali) and British Telecom. 

Ash holds a degree in Engineering Product Design.  He is a guest speaker and visiting lecturer at [London South Bank University](/org/london-south-bank-university).

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