Chairman

Since co-founding First Central Group in 2008, Mike has led the business through a period of significant growth in a constantly evolving insurance market. 

As Chairman, Mike’s role is to lead the boards across the group to ensure the business is appropriately governed, recognising the interests of all the group’s key stakeholders whether they be policyholders, employees, regulators or investors. 

Before co-founding First Central Group, Mike worked for Amlin and Benfield, and then joined Zenith Insurance in 2002. He was promoted to UK CEO in 2004, and in 2006, Mike left to set up a new Lloyd’s managing agent, Diagonal Underwriting, owned by IAG.

Mike is married with four children, who tend to take up any remaining spare time! However, he's a keen rugby supporter (especially Wasps and England) and occasional (poor) golfer. 

Group Chief Executive Officer

Michael is Group Chief Executive Officer and joined the company in March 2019. A Chartered Insurer, Michael has extensive experience in digitally driven, agile, technology-based distribution and underwriting.

Prior to joining First Central, Michael was Managing Director within the Hastings Insurance Group and part of the executive team that led the private equity deal with Goldman Sachs in 2013, and successfully floated the business in 2015. During his time with Hastings, Michael was fundamental to the success of the business, having had responsibility for the claims, counter fraud, underwriting, and reinsurance functions.

Before joining Hastings, Michael co-founded Southern Rock Insurance Company, and spent 10 years at Provident Insurance Plc.

 

Chief Underwriting Officer

Peter is a co-founder of First Central, having presented the original plan to his fellow founders for investment back in 2006.

As Chief Underwriting Officer, his great passion is statistics and emerging powers of large datasets; a passion perfectly fuelled by the modern aggregator channel.

Prior to starting up the business, Peter was one of the industry’s youngest Heads of Pricing at Zenith Insurance. Before Zenith, he held roles at Towergate Partnership and Ageas.

Peter lives in Richmond with his wife and three children. He also keeps marine fish and corals and loves playing golf.

Chief Financial Officer

John joined First Central Group as Chief Financial Officer in February 2018 and is responsible for ensuring that the business has the financial resources to deliver against its growth aspirations.
 
Previously, John was the Chief Executive Officer at Proxama PLC, leading the strategic direction of the business and driving integration following a number of acquisitions. John has also held positions at Aviva and RAC, where he was responsible for optimising capital through effective investment into new product lines, new initiatives and improving the business cashflow.
 
Outside of work, John’s interests include golf, local causes and ornithology.

HR Director

Jo has worked at First Central since the company started back in 2008 – initially as HR Manager, then Head of HR, and in January 2019, she became HR Director.

As a business, we know that the people we employ are without doubt our biggest asset. Jo’s extensive experience in HR and passion for making First Central a place where people can thrive has helped us in our mission to become an employer of choice.

Before joining First Central, Jo spent four years at Hastings Direct working in HR.

In her spare time, Jo loves keeping fit and being outdoors. She’s a keen skier, plays badminton regularly and will try her hand at any sporting activity, including rock-climbing, water-skiing and wind-surfing.

Chief Claims Officer

Jonathan joined First Central Group as Chief Claims Officer in April 2018 to deliver the business’s future digital customer claims strategy. In addition to this, he provides leadership on the processes and governance of the group’s claims indemnity spend and reserving. 
 
Before joining us, Jonathan spent 22 years in various roles at Co-operative Insurance. Most notably, he was the Claims General Manager (Director) and set up and executed the claims management strategy for the business.

As a keen gardener and walker, when Jonathan is not at work, he can be found outdoors.
 

Operations Director

Zuzana joined First Central as Head of Premium Finance in 2012. Over time, her role broadened into operations to include Contact Centre management, service quality, claims and operational excellence, resulting in her becoming Operations Director in January 2019.

Responsible for the efficient running of our customer-facing areas of the business, Zuzana ensures we deliver on customer excellence, putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.

Zuzana has vast experience of operational management, having previously worked in this area at Premium Credit Ltd and TheJudge Ltd.

In her spare time, Zuzana enjoys travelling and learning about new cultures, as well as walking, cycling and trying her hand at interior design. 

Chief Commercial Officer

Andy joined First Central Group as Marketing Director in September 2012 and assumed additional responsibility as CEO of 1^ST CENTRAL, our motor insurance broker, in 2013. 

Having firmly established 1^ST CENTRAL as a top 10 supplier in the UK motor aggregator market, Andy was appointed to the role of Chief Commercial Officer in 2018, to accelerate growth in an ever-evolving insurance marketplace. He also sits on the BIBA Motor panel on behalf of 1^ST CENTRAL. 

He has over 30 years’ experience in the insurance and financial services market, having previously held positions at Allianz, Aviva and Barclays.

Andy is married and has four children, four grandchildren, four cats, five chickens and a dog, so he likes to escape for time alone on his bike, or indulge in his passion for scuba diving.

Chief Information Officer

John is Chief Information Officer of First Central Group. He joined the company as Group Chief Architect in August 2011 with responsibility for developing the business’s internal technical capabilities, particularly online. His wealth of experience has helped us digitise the traditional back-office insurance functions and build our own, more modern and flexible insurance 'suite'.
 
Prior to joining us, John spent many years developing innovative solutions for insurers and brokers worldwide, in both commercial and personal lines markets.
 
John is based in Guernsey, where he lives with his partner Steph and their three children. When time permits, he enjoys kayaking, cycling or the occasional round of golf.