British Managing General Agent (MGA), Pen Underwriting has announced the appointment of Catriona Thomson as Chief
Financial Officer (CFO), effective from July 1, subject to regulatory approval.
Her appointment follows the earlier announcement in March that Sarah Breslin, the current CFO, will assume the role of Managing Director of Pen’s Specialty division.
Thomson brings a wealth of corporate knowledge and commercial acumen to her new role. For the past nine years, she has served as the Head of IBA Operations in the UK for the Gallagher group, where she led a team of over 200 colleagues in Glasgow. During her tenure, she worked across all four of Gallagher’s UK trading divisions and played a key role in integrating several acquired businesses.
Prior to joining Gallagher, Thomson held senior managerial positions at Morgan Stanley, focusing primarily on derivatives and global structured products. She also worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the public sector advisory unit.
Expressing his enthusiasm about Thomson’s appointment, Tom Downey, CEO of Pen Underwriting, said, “We couldn’t be happier to welcome Catriona as our new CFO. Her energy, drive, technical capabilities, and leadership skills make her an ideal fit for Pen. With her deep understanding of our business, products, and clients, gained through her extensive experience at Gallagher, Catriona is well-positioned to contribute to Pen’s strategic sustainable growth.”
Downey also highlighted the significance of internal talent recruitment, stating, “It is also great to once again be able to recruit from our internal talent pool for a pivotal role in Pen as we continue on our journey to become a £1 billion GWP underwriting and distribution company.”
Expressing her excitement about joining Pen Underwriting, Catriona Thomson said, “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Pen at such an exciting juncture, with the business in full growth mode as it invests in new underwriting specialisms and a wider portfolio of client solutions. My experience of Pen has always been one of collaboration and customer-centricity, so I am really looking forward to joining the team and meeting all my new colleagues in the coming months.”
