Senior Leadership Team
Giles Reading
Chief Executive Officer
A leading legal expenses industry expert, Giles is committed to building Irwell’s portfolio and presence within the commercial insurance industry.
Giles has guided Irwell to produce impressive results with his unwavering commitment to market-leading products, high client retention rates and providing an opportunity-rich workplace for staff.
Christopher Breakwell
Chief Risk Officer (ACII)
With 20 years’ industry experience, Christopher joined Irwell Insurance as Head of Underwriting and is now a board director. He is integral to Irwell’s rapid growth and has led the implementation of Consumer Duty.
He is passionate about delivering innovative, compliant solutions to help mitigate business risk within an ever-evolving regulatory environment.
David Rimmington
Chief Financial Officer
Prior to joining Irwell, David trained as a chartered accountant with KPMG and has over 30 years’ experience in financial management within the life assurance and banking sectors.
David has held several senior financial management positions within the Royal London Group including Head of Group Management Reporting and most recently as Group Finance Director for Chesnara plc.
Mike Ward
Head of Financial Planning & Analysis
Mike has over 17 years’ experience working in finance positions within the insurance and financial services sector. Since joining Irwell, he has provided strategic insight and technical insurance accounting expertise within the team.
Mike brings a wealth of experience in regulatory returns in particular Solvency II, long-term insurance reserving and run off modelling, policy database software design and building high functioning teams within an expanding business.
Kate Barker
Head of Regulatory Reporting
Kate qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte then worked in various property and non-profit organisations in Financial Controller and Head of Finance roles. Kate moved into the insurance sector working within the PSC Group as Head of Finance and then Finance Director of their UK Retail businesses before moving to Ardonagh as Advisory Head of Client Money M&A before her move to Irwell Insurance.
Lorraine Airley
Executive Assistant
With over 25 years’ experience as an Executive Assistant, Lorraine has supported senior leadership with her ability to navigate complex and challenging environments with precision, efficiency and compassion. Throughout her career, Lorraine has supported board executives through management buyouts, product launches and company growth and has the ability to build strong working relationships at all levels.
Russell Thompson
Claims Manager
Russell has over 20 years commercial claims experience in commercial liability, long and short tail industrial disease, property, and construction PI.
Throughout his career he has specialised in counter fraud investigation, client-vendor management and large and complex losses at RSA and Swiss Re. He is passionate about training and mentoring claims handlers of the future.
Kevin Rowley
Project Delivery Manager
With 15 years in the insurance industry leading project and change management initiatives, Kev brings deep expertise in process improvement, operational efficiency and large-scale technology transformations. His extensive portfolio includes technical project implementation and strategic procurement of key capabilities and mentoring the Irwell IT department.
Lissa Kingdon
Risk & Compliance Manager
With over 24 years of experience in regulated environments, spanning general insurance, pure protection, sales management and health insurance, Lissa has extensive understanding of regulatory frameworks across diverse sectors. Since joining Irwell as the Risk and Compliance Manager she has embedded robust governance to ensure regulatory alignment whilst fostering a culture of integrity and accountability across the business.