Ben Butler appointed Managing Director at Macbeth

We’re delighted to announce that Ben Butler has been appointed to Managing Director at Macbeth. The change will also see Paul Macbeth transition to CEO and reflects our wider consolidation in the region and industry, as one of the Thames Valley’s leading chartered insurance firms.

With his new remit, Ben will head up day-to-day operations, including insurer relationships alongside strategic partnerships. Overseeing our rapidly growing team of 30 will be core to Ben’s role, leading recruitment as we look to bring in new talent, and drive team culture and engagement. In addition, developing Macbeth’s infrastructure will also be a key strategy as we look to deliver on significant client growth this year. As many of you will know, Ben has spent his entire career at Macbeth.

As CEO, Paul will focus on the business’ wider client and growth strategy and build on the success of Macbeth’s 2019 acquisition of CMJ.

Strategic growth for a regional leader

Last year saw organic growth of 15% take Macbeth’s GWP to £16m. We put this down to the way we’ve built our global client base, expanding our claim offering to enhance customer experience, and wider investment in operations. We were delighted to be recognised in Insurance Age’s Top 100 Independent Insurance Brokers listing last year.

Paul comments, “Ben’s transition to MD has been part of a five year strategy where we’ve experienced some incredible growth in a difficult market. The business is at a hugely exciting point and Ben’s the right person to lead this next phase. This means I can focus on other strategic areas of the business to drive our growth – building our brand, future selective acquisitions, strengthening our leadership team and increasing employee engagement.

I’m personally delighted for Ben. Like me, he joined Macbeth straight from school and truly loves the business and our people. Ben’s a natural leader – he was the obvious choice for this next chapter.”

Culture has always been a major point of difference for us so ensuring this remains intact as we grow is a priority as Macbeth sets the industry standard as a major regional business.

Creating a legacy firm

Macbeth’s growth continues to buck the trend in the industry. Alongside the ongoing challenges presented by COVID-19, mid-size firms continue to navigate a hardening insurance market, increasing competition in the commercial SME space and rapid growth of evolving technology.

Ben adds, “Working with Paul all these years, means I’ve learnt to see perceived challenges as opportunities. We’ve never been a business that stands still – we actually embrace change and are continually pushing and investing. We want to improve and this desire flows throughout the team. It’s uncertain times and many businesses in our sector will look very different by the end of this year given the huge amount of consolidation that’s taking place. We have the advantage of a growing, loyal client base, an agile team and genuine sector specialisms.

Paul’s set the bar incredibly high and I’m honoured to be part of this legacy.”