Even the most experienced chefs in the world acknowledge the delicate balancing act that is putting a personal spin on a classic dish. Updating and revitalising a recipe without compromising its integrity or losing what made it timeless in the first place takes time, consideration and a commitment to rejecting complacency.
Successfully taking up the reins of a fast-growing insurance business requires many of the same key ingredients, as discovered by Alex Powell (pictured) when he stepped into a new role as CEO of AEGIS London upon the retirement of his predecessor David Croom-Johnson in 2022. It was a natural next step for Powell, who joined the Syndicate when it was just a fledgling business at the turn of the millennium.
“I came as part of a team of nine others and we joined the very small band of people already here, one of whom, Chris Terry, is still here, so he predates me as the longest-serving AEGIS London employee, so I’ll just have to knock him off and then I have the crown!” he joked. “I’ve been here about 45% of my life and, in many ways, I’ve grown up alongside the business. It has been my career and my life’s work in some ways. And it has been a fantastic journey.”
Over the last 20-plus years, AEGIS London has outgrown its roots as an energy insurance specialist to become a diversified underwriting business serving a wide range of classes through expert teams based in London and Canada. Powell noted that at the heart of this evolution has been the support of its parent company and capital provider, the mutual insurance giant AEGIS.
“They’re in insurance so they understand the fundamentals,” he said. “They know that cycles happen and you can’t just grow at all costs. All the good underwriting discipline that we’ve deployed has been thoroughly supported by our very patient capital provider. There was never a grand plan, it has always been about doing what’s right and appropriate at the right time.
“We’ve always been underwriting-led so our planning has been bottom-up and top-down. The growth mantra of underwriting profitability has been one that hung overhead but rather has served as a guiding light. It’s all about staying disciplined when the market is not with you and not trying to be too clever and buck the trends of a declining rating environment. And that’s really been led from the front, by my predecessor, and my predecessor’s predecessor.”
That combination of nurturing and discipline has been the throughline of AEGIS London’s success and growth to date, he said, and it’s reflected in the culture that Croom-Johnson oversaw as CEO and which he now champions. Powell noted that AEGIS London is carrying out a body of work to get to the core of what its culture is and what makes it so powerful.
“I think, underneath it all, trust has been incredibly powerful, both internally within the business, and with our parent company which has entrusted us with their capital and trusted us to get with what we do best,” he said. “We’ve accelerated in size and scale, in terms of our GWP, but also our people, in the last three to four years – but, for a long time, we were not a large business, we were at less than half a billion dollars, we were between 100-120 people, it was all very manageable.
“Our vision for growth has been made possible because there was a lot of relying on everybody to make it happen and I think that’s what has helped bind us all together. So, culture is hugely important. It’s one of my priorities and I don’t take it for granted. And if we don’t build on it for our future success, then it will all have been for naught.”
When Powell stepped up as chief executive he enjoyed a six-month handover period with his predecessor which he described as invaluable but “over in a heartbeat”. Having worked closely with Croom-Johnson for many years, he said, he had anticipated that six months to get his feet under the desk and to mine him for every piece of information he didn’t already have access to would be plenty of time.
“But it did go incredibly quickly,” he said. “Of course, David was incredibly helpful during that period, to the point where I think, towards the end, he was very comfortable knowing he could walk away, and it would all be OK. It was one of those really steep learning curves that brings so much excitement and trepidation at the same time. Looking back, it was so lovely to have that time, to have the space to be methodical about the process and to have that support from David, from the board and the executive team.”
Looking back to his first day without that “safety net”, Powell emphasised the strength and security of having a measured and consistent handover period and the powerful message that this delivers across an entire business. Having open and transparent lines of communication is integral to AEGIS London’s culture, he said, and it’s reflected even in the business’s open-plan offices and in the ease with which he moved from the CUO to the CEO role.
“Somebody asked me recently whether it was odd to go from being part of the peer group of the exec to being the leader,” he said. “And you do have to change that relationship and earn their respect and gain their trust again, but in a different way. Going from a trusted colleague to a trusted leader is a change – and time will tell how that’s worked out.
“But we hired no new executive members when I became CEO, they’re all the team David left in place which is an interesting dynamic to work with but a good one. And I think back to those first days and how I set out my stall and said - there will be differences and there will be similarities. Because I’m not David so there will be differences in my style to his, but underneath it all, the fundamentals remain the same.”
Working in tandem with his growth ambitions for AEGIS London is Powell’s commitment to maintaining its reputation for excellence – both internally and externally. The ambition at the core of the business is to just keep on improving its offering, he said, which has such a strong foundation for growth in the work done by Croom-Johnson and everyone who has left their mark on the company.
“I think the fear that we might one day fall off that number one pedestal is actually a great driver because it means you’ve got to pedal harder to stay where you are,” he said. “And I can hear David’s voice in my head – ‘never get complacent’. He’s absolutely right and we won’t let complacency settle in because I do think you can always improve the recipe, you can always add to the mix. And it might just be little bits here and there around the margins, they might just be small gains but they can add up to something more significant.”
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