Ep171 Alex Powell of Aegis: Realistic, but with an added dose of niceness

Aegis London is one of the most consistently top performing
syndicates in the Lloyd’s market. It’s also one of the least
volatile. The business has a new CEO, Alex Powell and so it was
only natural that I should invite him onto the show for a
catch-up. Alex has been with Aegis since the year 2000 when it
was a fledgling syndicate so he knows this firm inside and out –
to use his own phrase, he’s been sheep-dipped in this business’s
culture. It’s clear from this meeting that we shouldn’t expect
radical departures from Alex – but that doesn’t mean that we
shouldn’t expect Aegis London to be radical. Because this is a
radical business at heart. It’s found a way of putting into
practice what many preach but what is enormously difficult to do
– grow when you can and preserve capital when you can’t – and all
the while maintaining a healthy balance that brings genuine
diversification benefits. It’s also pioneered the digitisation of
specialist business classes with a large degree of success, which
is something many would not have predicted. In this meeting we
spend a lot of time examining the market and going over the
secrets of Aegis’s success. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but
a bit like his predecessor David Croom-Johnson, Alex seems to be
a good living example of the culture he wants to engender in his
staff. He is easy-going, curious, smart and charismatic and is
open and honest about his strategy and what has and hasn’t worked
over the years He’s not prone to hyperbole and gives a strong
impression that he would be an excellent person to work for. And
perhaps that is the real secret as this business looks to make
the most out of what remains of this hard market. But don’t take
my word for it. You should hear it for yourself. LINKS We thank
our naming sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com/