Aviva makes key appointments to its Distribution senior leadership team

Rebecca Gambrell joins Aviva from Zurich as Portfolio Director

Sharon Boobyer is promoted to Chief Operating Officer for SME and Distribution

Aviva has made two appointments into its Distribution team to bring increased focus on visibility, responsiveness and delivery for brokers and their customers. The move builds on the structural changes announced in July for the SME and Distribution leadership teams, which report into Dave Martin, Managing Director, GI Distribution and SME Trading.

In a newly created role, Rebecca Gambrell will join Aviva in December as Portfolio Director. Rebecca will bring greater technical focus and performance oversight of Aviva’s SME portfolio and help to identify and deliver growth opportunities in new and existing markets. Rebecca is a qualified actuary who started her career with Zurich in 2009 and most recently was head of Personal Lines & MGAs.

Sharon Boobyer has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, SME and Distribution, with effect from 1 October. Sharon is currently Head of SME Commercial Change, Systems and Transformation, and brings 33 years of commercial insurance experience across a wide range of disciplines. In her new role, Sharon will be responsible for the operation and strategic transformation of the distribution and underwriting teams.

Both roles will report to Dave Martin.

Sharon and Rebecca’s appointments will help to accelerate Aviva’s growth ambition for the Commercial Lines business. Commenting on the additions to his team, Dave Martin said:

“Sharon and Rebecca’s appointments cement a strong, diverse leadership team, combining expertise with innovation and a genuine desire to deliver for brokers and their customers.

“Sharon already has made a huge impact in driving the efficiency and effectiveness of the SME systems, people and processes, and I look forward to her continued focus on delivering great outcomes for our business and our customers. As a qualified actuary, Rebecca will bring greater technical discipline driving forward our Schemes, MGA and SME portfolio. I am confident that her valuable breadth of experience across Retail and Commercial will help us achieve our ambitions across SME and Distribution.

“I’m confident that we have the right ingredients to continue to grow and succeed in Commercial Lines and further increase our visibility and responsiveness for the brokers and partners we work with.”

Authored by Aviva