Key people

David started his career as a broker at Alexander Howden in 1981, before founding Howden in 1994 originally as a wholesale broker, alongside three people and a dog. He has been the driving force behind its expansion into an international insurance group offering wholesale, retail and reinsurance broking and underwriting.

As CEO, David’s focus is on leading the group’s M&A activities, as well as directing and implementing the group’s strategic growth and direction.

As Group Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Howden Board since 2026, Susan plays a pivotal role in driving our ambitious growth plans.

She brings over two decades of international finance leadership experience from News Corporation, where she held a range of strategic, operational and finance roles across the UK and Australia. She became CFO of News UK in 2008 and CFO of News Corp Australia in 2013, serving on the boards of Foxtel and the ASX-listed REA Group.

In 2017, she was appointed CFO of News Corp in New York, where she oversaw financial strategy during a period of transformation as the company shifted towards a digital, subscription-led model – delivering margin expansion, strong share price growth and shareholder returns.

Susan is a chartered accountant, and Chair of the audit committee and an independent director for Howard Hughes Holdings Inc, a US listed company.

David is an experienced COO with 35 years’ experience leading and transforming operations and technology teams across banking, capital markets and insurance. His global experience spans building and managing teams across Asia, EMEA and the US.

As a key member of the Howden Board since 2024, David established the Group Operating Committee, which he chairs.

His previous executive roles include COO and Head of Integration at the London Stock Exchange Group, Group Operations & Technology Director at Willis Towers Watson, and COO at RBS Markets & International Banking. He also served as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the risk committee at TP ICAP and is currently a Trustee at the Charities Aid Foundation.

David holds master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics.

As one of Howden’s three founding members, Louise has been instrumental in the group’s growth and development over the past three decades. Her career has spanned a wide range of positions across the business, from group-level positions to regional leadership, and from specialist financial lines to underwriting. Starting out as a specialist broker, she went on to establish DUAL Italy in Milan and lead Howden North Europe, before taking on her current role as Chief of Staff to David Howden.

Alongside her responsibilities on the Global Leadership and Business Management teams, Louise sits on the Howden D&I committee and the Howden Foundation. She’s a passionate advocate for employee ownership, the value of insurance and the role the private sector can play in mitigating the effects of climate change on the most vulnerable communities.

As Chief Commercial Officer, Elliot focuses on accelerating the group’s commercial strategy across all businesses. He’s also executive Chair of the group’s reinsurance division.

Since joining Howden through the RKH acquisition in 2015, Elliot has expanded Howden Re’s global footprint and played a key role in the acquisition of TigerRisk. Alongside CEO Tim Ronda, he has helped establish Howden Re as one of only four tier-one global reinsurance brokers.

Mike leads Howden’s expansion into the US retail insurance across all 50 states, covering 18 industry verticals, Employee Health & Benefits, the Middle Market, Private Capital and Private Client. He also oversees Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and the Caribbean, spanning corporate and commercial lines, Private Capital, key sector verticals, and Employee Health & Benefits.

Prior to joining Howden, Mike spent nearly two decades at Aon, where he oversaw retail broking and key client relationships along the Eastern Seaboard. He also led Marsh’s Florida-zone business, one of the company’s largest, most complex and strategically significant territories in the US. Having served on the Executive Committee for both firms, he earned repeated recognition for client growth, client satisfaction and organisational leadership.

Mike previously served for more than two decades with the Southern Florida chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, where he was named Man of the Year for record-setting fundraising in 2014. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Mike holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Richard joined DUAL, the underwriting arm of Howden, in 2016. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, he previously led Markel’s professional indemnity division and has spent a decade at XL Catlin, where he was a member of the group underwriting board, a director of Catlin Underwriting Agency Ltd and a member of the UK executive committee.

Robert started his career in Aon Ireland in 2004 within the new business team, focusing on developing the firm’s professional indemnity business. In 2009, he stepped up to the role of director and was seconded to a project exploring how to harmonise revenue generation across EMEA. Having returned to Ireland to manage insurer relationships, Robert moved to the insurer side, joining RSA and subsequently Aviva, where he was responsible for driving profitable growth in the broker channel in Ireland, developing new products, propositions and relationships. In March 2020, he returned to the broking sector, joining Aston Lark Ireland, and, subsequently, Howden Ireland as CEO.

As Howden’s Asia Pacific CEO, Rohan brings more than 24 years’ insurance broking experience spanning Asia, India and the US. In his current role, he has management and strategic oversight of Howden’s retail broking operations and Private Wealth division, a leading high-net-worth life insurance broker.

Prior to Howden, he was CEO of Marsh McLennan Hong Kong and Macau. He held leadership roles in India and across the region in sales, client management, and private equity mergers and acquisitions.

As CEO of Specialty at Howden, Sarah oversees a range of divisions, including Natural Resources, Property, Casualty, Logistics, Construction, Financial Lines Group, Sport & Entertainment, Fine Art & Specie, Mergers & Acquisitions, Tax & Contingent Risk, Credit & Political Risk, Surety, Climate Transition Risk & Real Estate.

Before joining as CEO of Financial Lines group, she was head of JLT’s financial lines group and held leadership roles at Aon, where she led the D&O, M&A and financial institutions teams.

She is also a member of the London Market Group board, representing London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA).

As a member of the Howden Executive Leadership team and CEO of Howden Re, the global reinsurance arm of Howden group, Tim brings extensive experience across the reinsurance sector. His remit includes Howden Capital Markets & Advisory, and Bowood and Howden Re programmes.

Previously President of Howden Tiger and TigerRisk Partners, he was instrumental in Howden’s acquisition of TigerRisk, which created a leading global reinsurance broking, strategic advisory and capital markets business.

Prior to TigerRisk, Tim held key leadership roles at Aon, serving as the Global Geographic Leader and US President for its reinsurance solutions division. He also served as Senior Vice President at Guy Carpenter. Tim holds degrees in business administration and accounting from Washington and Lee University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Dominic was appointed to the Howden Board as Chairman in 2015. He has 50 years’ experience in the insurance industry, having previously served as Chairman at the RKH Group, Chief Executive of Lloyd Thompson and Chairman of JLT Risk Solutions, JLT UK and JLT International. He was also a director of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group from its formation in 1997.

David started his career as a broker at Alexander Howden in 1981, before founding Howden in 1994 originally as a wholesale broker, alongside three people and a dog. He has been the driving force behind its expansion into an international insurance group offering wholesale, retail and reinsurance broking and underwriting.

As CEO, David’s focus is on leading the group’s M&A activities, as well as directing and implementing the group’s strategic growth and direction.

As Group Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Howden Board since 2026, Susan plays a pivotal role in driving our ambitious growth plans.

She brings over two decades of international finance leadership experience from News Corporation, where she held a range of strategic, operational and finance roles across the UK and Australia. She became CFO of News UK in 2008 and CFO of News Corp Australia in 2013, serving on the boards of Foxtel and the ASX-listed REA Group.

In 2017, she was appointed CFO of News Corp in New York, where she oversaw financial strategy during a period of transformation as the company shifted towards a digital, subscription-led model – delivering margin expansion, strong share price growth and shareholder returns.

Susan is a chartered accountant, and Chair of the audit committee and an independent director for Howard Hughes Holdings Inc, a US listed company.

David is an experienced COO with 35 years’ experience leading and transforming operations and technology teams across banking, capital markets and insurance. His global experience spans building and managing teams across Asia, EMEA and the US.

As a key member of the Howden Board since 2024, David established the Group Operating Committee, which he chairs.

His previous executive roles include COO and Head of Integration at the London Stock Exchange Group, Group Operations & Technology Director at Willis Towers Watson, and COO at RBS Markets & International Banking. He also served as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the risk committee at TP ICAP and is currently a Trustee at the Charities Aid Foundation.

David holds master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics.

Jim is a highly experienced US insurance executive and entrepreneur who previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Hays Company, an insurance broker he founded in 1994 and sold to Brown & Brown in 2018. He also served as Vice Chair and a member of the board for Brown & Brown, Inc. Starting Hays as a seven-person operation, Jim oversaw more than 25 years of growth, building it into one of the leading independent US brokers.

Albrecht is Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Europe at La Caisse (formerly CDPQ). With more than 20 years of private equity experience, he forms part of the international private equity management committee, investment committee and portfolio management committee, as well as the European executive committee. Before joining La Caisse in London in 2017, Albrecht worked at Wendel, a publicly listed, long-term investment firm based in Paris, and at Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, based in London.

Albrecht holds an MBA from INSEAD and an MSc in Management from ESCP.

As Managing Director at General Atlantic, Caroline focuses on investments in the firm’s financial services sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2015, Caroline was a Senior Associate at JC Flowers & Co in London where she worked on financial services investments. Prior to that, she was an Investment Banking Analyst in the financial institutions group at Citigroup in New York. Caroline also chairs the Sustainability committee at Howden.

A valued member of the Howden Board since 2015, Clement brings over 50 years of experience in the insurance industry. He previously served on the board of management of Allianz SE in Munich and was Chairman and CEO of Aon Re International based in London. His extensive career also includes serving on the board of management of Munich Re AG in Munich, as CEO of Munich Re of Africa Ltd and as Chairman of Munich Mauritius Reinsurance Company.

Clement has held numerous board positions internationally, including chairmanships at Euler Hermes SE (France), Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (Germany), Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Fireman’s Fund, Allianz Insurance plc, New Re and ACORD. He has also served on the boards of Sanlam, Santam and the supervisory board of Munich Reinsurance Company AG. Alongside his board experience, Clement is involved in consulting and executive coaching.

David joined the Howden Board in 2013. He’s Vice Chairman of General Atlantic, where he has been part of the investment team for over 30 years, and serves as a director of several public and private companies, including Alignment Health, Amherst Pierpont Securities and TriNet.

David is Co-Chairman of the board of Echoing Green, an organisation providing fellowship support for entrepreneurs, which he helped found in 1987. He also serves as Chairman of the boards of trustees of Johns Hopkins Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation and The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

John has been on our board since 2013 and is a partner of sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management. Previously, he was head of General Atlantic in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and led General Atlantic’s investment in Howden group.

John holds a master’s in economics and law from Downing College, University of Cambridge, and qualified as a barrister. He’s a board member of the NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia and chairs the Africa Council of The Nature Conservancy.

Justin is a Managing Partner at Hg, where he has led more than 30 investments since joining the firm in 2002. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs and Deloitte. He holds a degree in economics and business administration from the University of Cologne.

Appointed to the Howden Board in 2021, Kelly brings over 35 years’ industry experience and a strong global perspective. She began her career with AIG in New York before moving to London and Paris, where she held multiple leadership roles with responsibility across EMEA. She later joined XL Catlin as a member of the group leadership team, overseeing the insurer’s global operations. She continued in this role following XL’s merger with AXA.

Mark has been a member of the Howden Board and Chair of both the Audit committee and Remuneration committee since May 2018. He brings 35 years’ experience of advising and working with insurance boards, helping them adapt to the changing regulatory and business landscape.

Previously, Mark was a consulting partner and UK insurance industry leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. A qualified chartered accountant, he also served as Non-Executive Chairman of TransRe London Limited and Non-Executive Director of Pension Insurance Corporation PLC. He’s currently a Non-Executive Director of Openwork Holdings Limited and Fidelis Underwriting Limited.

Ralph is a Managing Director and Operating Partner in the private equity team at La Caisse (formerly CDPQ), and a member of the global portfolio management committee. He joined the Howden Group Board in 2020 and has over 20 years’ experience as an active investor, board director, CEO and advisor of private companies across a range of sectors, including financial services, business services and technology.

Prior to joining La Caisse, he was a partner at Montagu Private Equity, CEO of a private equity-backed European infrastructure provider, partner at Bain & Co and start-up entrepreneur.