Ripe Thinking hires ex-Towergate duo to 'help drive growth'

Ripe has hired Simon Trott as chief operating officer and Rob Styring as chief financial officer. 

Trott, pictured left, was most recently COO of legal specialist NAHL Group and had held previous roles as managing director at RKH Group and Towergate Insurance.

Styring, pictured right, joins from Kingsbridge Group, where he was CFO. Previous roles include finance director at PIB Group, Thistle Insurance and Towergate.

The two worked together leading Towergate Direct, the broker’s specialist retail division.

The appointments come as Ripe sees policyholder numbers exceed 300,000 marking a 50% increase in customers in less than three years.

Paul Williams, chief executive of Ripe Thinking, said: “Rob and Simon join as we start our next important expansion phase of markets, products, and superior delivery to our customers. Their expertise will help drive our continued success and the growth we know is possible. The whole Ripe team is excited to be working with them.”

Recruitment changes

In summer this year, Ripe appointed Laurel Powers-Freeling as new chair of the board. This came after chair of Ripe, Colin Whitehead stepped down from the role.

She led the development of M&S Money as CEO, and has held a series of senior executive, board or non-executive positions for organisations including the Prudential, Chubb, Lloyds Bank Group and the Bank of England.

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