Management team

Andy Homer FCII
Group Chief Executive Officer

Andy was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Towergate Partnership in 2005. He joined Towergate in 2002 as Chief Executive Officer of the Folgate Partnership. Andy has worked in the insurance business since 1971. His career includes appointments as General Manager of Commercial Union UK (now part of Norwich Union) and CEO of Axa Insurance UK. Between 1998 and 2001 he was Chairman of the Motor Insurance Bureau and was President of the Chartered Insurance Institute in 2002/3.

Amanda Blanc MBA, BA (Hons), ACII, Chartered Insurance Broker
Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer

Amanda was appointed as Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer in December 2009.  In addition to being CEO of Towergate’s Retail Broking businesses, Amanda now has operational responsibility for PowerPlace and network businesses – Broker Network and Countrywide.  She was formerly Distribution and Customer Services Director of Groupama Insurances. Before joining Groupama, Amanda held senior sales and distribution positions at AXA Insurance and Commercial Union. In 2008 Amanda was voted the overall winner of Women in the City award and is a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute Broking Faculty board.

Max Carruthers BSc, ACII
Group Operations Director

Max was appointed as Group Operations Director in 2005. He is a computer science graduate and started his career as a loss adjuster. He has subsequently held a variety of senior roles within the insurance industry. He was Deputy Managing Director at Economic Insurance until Hiscox bought the firm in 1996. He then became Managing Director of Hiscox Insurance. In 1998, Max was appointed Chief Executive of Eastgate Assistance. He became Joint Chief Executive of Rubicon Corporation in 2001.

Tim Johnson, MBA, BSc (Hons), ACII, Chartered Insurance Broker
Chief Executive Officer, Paymentshield

Tim began his insurance career with Royal Insurance, before moving into the broking arena with Aon in 1994. Following periods in the Corporate and Sports and Events divisions he took up the post of CEO of Aon’s Affinity and SME business.He joined Towergate as CEO in 2003, and was involved in a number of acquisitions which saw the business grow rapidly.

On the merger of Towergate and Folgate in 2005, Johnson formulated a plan for a new business, Cullum Capital Ventures, with Peter Cullum. CCV made 36 acquisitions in less than 3 years, which saw the business grow from start up to the UK’s third largest independently owned intermediary, a growth curve matched only by Towergate.In June 2009 he took up the role of CEO of Paymentshield, one of Towergate’s most significant acquisitions to date and the dominant player in the mortgage broker general insurance market place.

Clive Nathan, BA, ACII
Chief Executive Officer - Underwriting

Clive was appointed as Chief Executive Officer Underwriting early 2006 having joined Towergate in 2003. He has held senior positions in Commercial Union and Axa Insurance, where he was Southern Regional Director.

Ian Patrick, BA, CA
Group Finance Director

Ian was appointed Group Finance Director of Towergate in 2006. Ian trained as a chartered accountant with BDO Binder Hamlyn qualifying in 1991. He has since held a number of senior finance positions with Croft Oil & Gas Plc and Mitsui Bussan Commodities before joining Highway Insurance Holdings plc in 1999 and becoming Group Finance Director in 2002. Following the successful turnaround of the business Ian was promoted to Group Finance & Operations Director in 2005.

Tim Philip, B.Comm. ACA
Finance Director

Tim joined The Folgate Partnership as Group Finance Director at the time of Folgate’s launch in 2002 and became Finance Director of Towergate when the two groups merged in 2005. He joined Coopers and Lybrand in 1985 spending six years with Coopers in Australia, before transferring to the UK in January 1991. In 1999 Tim joined Heath Group and in 2000 he joined Benfield Group as Finance Director of a newly formed subsidiary company. Tim is a qualified chartered accountant.

Darryl  Clark, ACIS, MSc, MA, PIIA
Group Company Secretary & Risk Management Director

Darryl was appointed to the Board in September 2008. As well as Secretariat, he is responsible for Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit, Risk Management and Corporate Governance. Darryl joined Folgate Insurance Company in 1996 as Financial Director and was Deputy Managing Director prior to its acquisition by Towergate. He has a strong background of senior positions in risk management and internal audit and is a Chartered Company Secretary as well as holding other professional memberships and qualifications.

Paul Dyer, BA, ACII
Non-executive Director

Paul was one of the founders who created Towergate in 1997. He started his career with Royal Insurance before moving to TSB with responsibilities for non-life insurance development. In 1983, he became marketing manager for ITT London & Edinburgh. In 1992 he joined Economic Insurance and was part of the management buyout team, leaving Hiscox to create Towergate. Paul was Group Communications Director before becoming a non-executive director in 2005.

Andrew Land, LLB, MBA
Non-executive Director

Andrew was appointed as a non-executive Director of Towergate in 2009. He is a Managing Director of Och-Ziff Capital Management in the European Private Investments team, focusing on European private debt and equity investments. Prior to joining Och-Ziff in 2005, Andrew spent six years at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, where he was a Principal, and four years in the European Investment Banking Group of Credit Suisse First Boston, both in London. He is currently a director of Peacocks Group and Nautilus Holdings and was previously a director of Grifols SA and Palladian Investments. Andrew graduated from Edinburgh University with an LLB (Hons) in Law and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Matthew Popoli
Non-executive Director

Matthew was appointed as a non-executive Director of Towergate in 2009. He is a Managing Director at Reservoir Capital Group, a privately owned investment firm based in New York and a senior member of their investment team.  Prior to joining Reservoir, he was a Principal of leading private equity specialists, Capital Z Partners. He began his career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Matthew is also Chairman of AmeriLife Group, one of the largest life and health insurance groups in the U.S. and a director of MLF Financial Holdings. He has also been active in setting up several successful investment firms. He has a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College.

Tony Proverbs FCII
Non-executive Director

Tony was part of the team who created Towergate in 1997. He began his career with Guardian Royal Exchange and Black Sea and Baltic, where he held a variety of senior sales roles. In 1985, he moved to Economic Insurance to focus on scheme development. Tony subsequently became Sales Director of Hiscox before joining the management team of Towergate from its inception.

Mel Sims, LL.B (Hons) Law
Non-executive Director

Mel was appointed as a non-executive Director of Towergate in 1999. He is a private equity corporate lawyer at DLA Piper specialising in mergers and acquisitions and has particular experience in the insurance sector. He has been involved in the establishment and development of insurance brokers and third party administrators to the insurance industry including Towergate Partnership Limited and Folgate Partnership Limited.