Ousted QBE insurance chief lined up to lead Lloyd’s of London turnaround

Lloyd’s of London was poised to name the controversial former head of Australia’s largest insurer as its new chief executive on Friday in an attempt to bring the 330-year-old institution back into profit.

John Neal, who ran $15 billion (£11.6 billion) Aussie behemoth QBE for five years, was likely to be confirmed as the boss to replace Dame Inga Beale, who leaves next year.

Despite being credited with leading a successful turnaround of QBE after joining in 2012, Neal has a chequered corporate past.

He was ousted last year after a huge profit warning sent its shares tumbling. It closely followed headlines when his pay was docked A$550,000 (then £340,000) for failing to disclose to the QBE board that he was in a relationship with his personal assistant.

The relationship triggered huge media interest in Australia, with tabloids running paparazzi shots of the couple on shopping trips and printing pictures of his $7.5 million Sydney penthouse when it was put up for sale.

Lloyd’s of London, which declined to comment, is trying to reverse a £2 billion loss in 2017 by clamping down on unprofitable syndicates and moving to digital systems.

New chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown, a former banker, has overseen the search for a chief, helped by Wonga chairman Andy Haste. Carnegie-Brown chairs the appointments committee at Lloyd’s.

Neal, a 53-year-old Brit, is a well-known figure in the Lloyd’s market and is said to enjoy a good relationship with brokers.

His international experience — about a third of QBE’s business comes from north America — is considered key to his appointment as Lloyd’s seeks to stop business flowing to cheaper rivals like Bermuda and the US.

QBE, which is worth $15 billion and spans 36 countries, employs about 14,000 people.

Neal was formerly chief executive and lead shareholder of Lloyd’s syndicate manager Ensign, a car insurer, which he set up in 2000 and sold three years later to QBE. He went on to become chief underwriting officer at QBE before moving to operations chief and then chief executive.

Neal is thought to have beaten other front-runners including XL Catlin’s former chief Paul Jardine and Deloitte’s head of UK insurance Clive Buesnel to the role. The appointment was first reported by Re-insurance.com.