Paul Turner

Executive Chairman

Paul is the Chairman and has been with the Group since its creation in 1982.

His broking career is broad, particularly memorable clients he has provided cover for include: Live Aid, The Pope’s Tour of Australia, The Rolling Stones and The Wall Concert in Berlin celebrating Germany’s unification.

Paul has a keen interest in Enterprise and fosters new talents by mentoring and investing in start-ups. These are diverse and encompass tea, the motor trade, and smart mobile tech. Paul is also a Life Patron of Springboard and Ambassador for ABTA Lifeline.

T: 0207 977 7899
M: 07831 524500
paul.turner@seventeengroup.co.uk

Paul Anscombe

Chief Executive Officer

Paul has been an insurance broker for over 30 years and is Group Chief Executive Officer of Seventeen Group, which owns James Hallam Insurance Brokers, Touchstone Underwriting and London Re.

Seventeen Group is passionately independent and employs over 350 staff throughout the UK. All of the shareholders and Directors of Seventeen Group are actively involved in the business and from the insurance profession by background.

Paul was previously a BIBA main board member and Chaired the BIBA Insurance Brokers Standards Committee.

Outside of business, Paul is married with 4 children and lives near Devizes in Wiltshire. He has been involved in coaching and leadership training on a voluntary basis for a number of years and is a Saracens rugby supporter, fisherman and sometime golfer.

T: 0207 977 7897
M: 07960 321477
paul.anscombe@seventeengroup.co.uk

David Allori

Chief Operating Officer

David is the Chief Operating Officer and joined the James Hallam Group in 2005.

Previously David was a Director with a Lloyds broker, heading up the Corporate team. He began his insurance career in Zimbabwe working for a number of global brokers with a focus on construction and mining.

T: 0207 977 7851
M: 07765 404462
david.allori@seventeengroup.co.uk

Diana Bratt

Director

Diana is the Group Operations and HR Director and has been in this role since 2007.

Working closely with the Management Team, Diana assists with acquisitions and the strategic development of the business. She particularly enjoys solving the day-to-day challenges of our growing and dynamic company.

Diana is an active gym member and completed the London Marathon in 2012.

T: 01245 204451
M: 07984 165867
diana.bratt@seventeengroup.co.uk

Howard Fryer

Chief Trading Officer

Howard leads the Corporate division and has worked in the broking industry since the 1980s. He joined James Hallam as City & Mid Market Director in 2015 and is responsible for the City Division, Profin Division and an expansion program aimed at UK mid-sized commercial risks. Howard is part of the James Hallam Management Team.

Before joining James Hallam Howard was at Bluefin Insurance Services where as Head of Corporate he focused on UK based commercial clients along with the specialisms of Professions, Real Estate, and Trade Credit. Prior to that he was the Managing Director for London & South regions.

T: 0207 977 7882
M: 07557 886463
howard.fryer@jameshallam.co.uk

David Noble

Director of Hospitality and Leisure

David has been the Director of Hospitality and Leisure since 2009. Starting his insurance career at Landau Manson in 1989, David became a Director in 1998. He was integral in the purchase of the Gauntlet brand in 2001 and became Managing Director of Landau Manson in 2006. In 2009 David facilitated its successful sale to James Hallam.

Passionate about the hospitality sector, David works as a trustee of the Springboard Charity promoting the industry as a great place to work providing specialist services to businesses to attract talent. It helps young people achieve their potential, supporting unemployed people of any age into work and people facing multiple barriers to work.

David believes in continuous learning and setting goals in both his business and personal life. This was developed from his time as a member of the Academy of Chief Executives.

T: 0207 977 7856
M: 07818 036566
david.noble@jameshallam.co.uk

Ajay Tailor

Group Finance Director

Ajay began his career at Deloitte in 2005 and is a Chartered Accountant. He spent three years with Liberty Syndicates supporting the Group CFO with the implementation of Solvency II and drove a wider finance transformation project.

Moving from finance to support the Group CEO on strategy and corporate development Ajay spent 5 years with Prudential Plc. Working with the Group exec and Board to ensure formulation, challenge and execution was aligned both internally and communicated clearly to the market. This period saw a 3x growth in market capitalisation, to become one of the world’s largest insurance companies.

Ajay spent 5 years with two private equity backed insurance intermediaries. With Ardonagh he oversaw the formulation of various divisions. As finance director he oversaw the integration of various Towergate Retail with Direct Group and Healthy Pets to create the Schemes and Programs division. He went on to oversee the MGA division which made 4 acquisitions. At Kingfisher he was the Group CFO of the UK group. He supported the wider group in the sale of NSM from White Mountains to Carlyle Group in 2022.

T: 07596 545713
ajay.tailor@seventeengroup.co.uk

Roy Standish

Distribution Director

Roy has been in the insurance industry for over 30 years, joining Eagle Star Insurance Co in 1986 as a Property Underwriter and rising through the ranks before the merger with Zurich in 1998, where he held a number of senior roles including City Manager, Head of Real Estate Insurance and Market Management Director, with responsibility for leading all 9 Commercial Broker Branches in the UK. His final role at Zurich, before leaving in 2018 after 32 years with the Group, was as Sales & Distribution Director with responsibility for the UK General Insurance Retail sales and distribution strategy and execution.

Roy joined James Hallam in 2019, initially to concentrate on our AR Partnership Programme before moving into a Distribution role to lead our Insurer relationships and supporting broker M&A as part of James Hallam’s growth strategy.

He’s an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a Chartered Insurance Broker, a member of the Worshipful Company of Insurers and a Freeman of the City of London.

07768 504776
roy.standish@jameshallam.co.uk