Meaney joins from Standard Life to fill the role vacated by Jo Kite earlier this year, as the mutual combines its customer and commercial functions into one seat
Royal London has appointed Bríd Meaney as chief customer officer and a member of its group executive committee, the mutual announced this week. Meaney will join the business next year, succeeding Bernie Hickman, the former Legal & General retail division chief executive who has been leading the function on an interim basis.
Meaney brings more than 25 years’ experience in life insurance to the role, most recently as chief risk officer at Standard Life and previously as chief executive of its Heritage Division. Before that she spent over a decade as a partner at KPMG, working with insurance businesses across the UK and internationally, including a spell leading the firm’s Hong Kong insurance practice, and served as head of insurance for KPMG in the UK. She is a qualified actuary.
Barry O’Dwyer, Royal London’s chief executive, said: “Bríd brings extensive industry experience and a strong track record of leading businesses through change. Her commercial insight, customer focus and breadth of experience will be invaluable as we continue to deliver for advisers, employers and customers.” Meaney said she was “looking forward to working with colleagues to build on its strong foundations, grow the business and continue improving the service provided to advisers, employers and customers.”
The appointment follows the departure earlier this year of Jo Kite as chief customer officer and Julie Scott as chief commercial officer, after Royal London decided to merge the two functions into a single customer-facing role going forward. Kite had joined the mutual in 2018 and moved into the chief customer officer post in 2021, having previously worked at WTW and Standard Life UK, while Scott joined from Aberdeen, where she had served as chief executive, in 2021.
Royal London is the UK’s largest customer-owned life, pensions and investment company, looking after 8.4 million policies and £212bn in assets under management as of the end of June. For advisers who route business through Royal London’s pension, protection and investment products, the appointment closes out a period of senior turnover at the mutual and brings a permanent hand with strong risk and actuarial credentials to a role that now spans both customer experience and commercial strategy.
