Lloyd’s appoints Special Adviser, Chief People Officer

Lloyd’s appoints Special Adviser, Chief People Officer

7 March 2022

Lloyd’s has appointed Des Potter as Special Adviser to Lloyd’s CFO and COO Burkhard Keese and Sara Gomez as Chief People Officer.

The adviser role is focused on making it easier for investors to access Lloyd’s, including through risk transformation vehicle London Bridge Risk PCC.

Mr Potter was most recently Guy Carpenter’s MD of GC Securities for a decade, and was also a member of the London Market Group taskforce that worked on UK Risk Transformation legislation, and he formerly held positions at Aon Benfield Securities and Barclays Bank.

“Des has a wealth of experience in the capital markets and brings extensive knowledge of transforming reinsurance risk to securities. This appointment emphasises Lloyd’s focus on making our market accessible to investors to support syndicates at Lloyd’s,” Mr Keese said, adding the appointment would strengthen Lloyd’s position as a “credible option for institutional investors”.

Mr Potter said he was a strong advocate of the underwriting capability in the Lloyd’s market and its leadership in many classes of business.

“This new role provides an exciting opportunity for me to contribute to enhancing access to the capital markets, to support this underwriting, and improving the experience for investors,” he said.

Ms Gomez has held similar roles at fintech Greensill and Moss Bros, following seven years at Direct Line Group. She joined Lloyd’s in July and was appointed Interim Chief HR Officer and a member of Lloyd’s Executive Committee in December.

As Chief People Officer, she will focus on developing Lloyd’s talent, leadership and inclusion strategy.

“I am delighted to confirm Sara in the new role of Chief People Officer at what is an important time for the Lloyd’s Corporation as we develop our talent and inclusion strategy. Sara is a proven leader, and in the short time that she has been at Lloyd’s she has already made a significant and valuable contribution,” CEO John Neal said.