Thursday, 19th January 2006
Shipowner directors of the 55 million GT North of England P&I club have promoted underwriting director Paul Jennings and finance director Alan Wilson to the new role of deputy managing directors. They will report to existing joint managing directors Rodney Eccleston and Peter Crichton until May this year, when Crichton plans to retire and Eccleston will become sole managing director.
Chairman Bill Thomson of Scottish tanker owner Forth Tankers plc says: ‘The appointments are vital to our succession planning, ensuring our senior management team remains at full strength following Peter Crichton’s planned retirement in May. We will be naturally sorry to see Peter leave after 18 successful years as joint MD, but have every confidence in Rodney Eccleston, his new deputies and the strong management team being able to continue developing the club’s financial strength, membership quality and service levels in the foreseeable future.’
Crichton (57) and Eccleston (56) became the industry’s first joint managing directors in 1988, since when they have taken North of England from one of the smallest to one of the strongest members of the International Group of P&I clubs. Under their management North of England’s membership has grown from 5 million GT to 55 million GT, culminating last year in a full ‘A’ rating from Standard and Poor’s – the highest rating currently held by a P&I insurer.
Crichton joined the club after graduating in modern history and politics in 1971 and Eccleston joined two years later after four years with the merchant navy, where he served as a junior navigating officer.
Jennings (43) joined the former Newcastle P&I Association in 1984 after completing a law degree. He subsequently became North of England’s marketing and underwriting manager when the two clubs merged in 1998 and, two years later, was appointed underwriting director of North of England’s new wholly-owned management company, North Insurance Management Limited (NIML).
Wilson (50) joined North of England in 1980 after qualifying as a chartered accountant with Binder Hamlyn. He was appointed finance manager and company secretary in 1988 and subsequently became finance director of NIML in 2000.
Jennings and Wilson have worked closely together over the past eight years to build the club’s financial strength and flexibility through maintaining a strong discipline on underwriting, a conservative strategy on investments and a strict control on costs.
North of England currently insures some 300 member groups from around the world, with a total P&I entry of 2750 vessels comprising 45 million GT owned and 10 million GT chartered shipping. Around 1200 ships are also entered for FD&D cover. The club is based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England with liaison offices in Greece and Hong Kong and a sister reinsurance company in Bermuda.