Meet the Team
Gary Bown BSc, FIA Chairman
Gary is Senior Actuary and manages AKG’s primary ratings and best advice activities.
He has significant experience in the life insurance industry, working in a wide variety of areas for both insurers and consultancies. This has included key roles within Commercial Union, Mercers and Lincoln. Gary joined AKG in 1998 with a specialist concentration in best advice, financial strength assessment and company rating. He is responsible in particular for profiling and reporting on the majority of UK life companies.
This focus has recently widened to include the assessment of offshore life companies. Gary is also involved in overseeing product assessment, TEP fund valuation and platform providers at AKG.
He was appointed as Chairman and Senior Actuary of AKG in January 2009.
Guy Vanner BA, MSc Managing Director
Guy graduated from University of Birmingham in 1991, before going on to become visiting Commonwealth Universities Scholar to Nigeria. He developed an area of research expertise with regard to social dynamics in industrialising economies and lectured in industrial sociology.
Guy joined AKG in 1992 from this background in social research. His initial role being to add social analysis to AKG’s pioneering research into issues such as pension lapse rates, originally produced for the Securities and Investment Board (SIB). Following this, Guy moved into AKG’s wider activities, developing and promoting product and company analysis within the UK financial services industry.
As well as responsibility for marketing communications and the promotion of AKG within its chosen markets, Guy has had a principal role in the development and distribution of AKG’s Information products and services, including financial strength analysis and ratings.
He was appointed Managing Director of AKG in January 2009.
Nigel Balchin BSc, FIA Actuary
Nigel graduated from Aston University in 1973; he became an actuarial trainee with Imperial Life Assurance of Canada, qualifying as an actuary in 1979.
In 1987 Nigel joined Crown Life in Woking and after a brief spell in the actuarial department was appointed Marketing Actuary.
In 1991 he joined Assicurazioni Generali in London. His role was initially that of Life Actuary and in 1993 he was appointed as Head of Life Division, with overall responsibility for Generali’s UK Life Operation. Nigel joined AKG Actuaries & Consultants in 1999.
Derek Holtham MA, FIA, ASA Director
Derek graduated from St John’s College, Cambridge in 1972 and became a trainee actuary with Welfare Assurance, qualifying as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1975.
He has held a variety of senior management and board roles within the life company sector, including extensive experience as an Appointed Actuary and managing Actuarial and Finance Departments.
He first entered the actuarial consultancy sector in 1990, when he set up his own practice advising life companies on actuarial issues, and developing activity in the design and implementation of financial services computer systems. One of his early assignments was to develop a specialist insurance companies database system for AKG.
Immediately prior to joining AKG full time in 1995, he was Chief Actuary of Premium Life, (1993-95).
He is a past member of the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Actuaries.
John Morley ACIB Company Information Analyst
John is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, with over 20 years’ experience in financial services, most recently in the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Corporate Banking division, having worked originally for NatWest prior to its acquisition by RBS.
He has held various managerial and director roles within banking, across Corporate & Structured Finance, Real Estate Finance, Corporate Relationship Management, and in other operational management positions.
John joined AKG in 2010 as Company Information Analyst, to assist in the development and ongoing provision of ratings in AKG’s expanding universe of entity types; in particular developing a key role in the assessment of specialist investment providers and platform operations.
James Ward MBA, ACII, APFS Director
Jim holds an MBA from Cass Business School and is a Chartered Insurance Practitioner.
Prior to joining AKG, he worked for Norwich Union in the IFA Distribution Channel undertaking a variety of Management and Sales roles, regionally and nationally.
He is qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and as an Associate of the Personal Finance Society.
He joined AKG in 1997 and as well as Sales and Marketing activities, he is also responsible for client relationships and for marketing, distribution and strategy input into AKG’s information and consultancy services.
Related Links
Contacting AKG
Call us on +44(0)1306 876439 for more information.