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Corporate
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After 26 years with Legal & General (L&G), Bernie Hickman, CEO of L&G Retail, will be stepping down at the end of 2024 so he can focus on new opportunities.
16 Oct 2024
Bernie has led the development of a wide range of market leading businesses including the £87bn Workplace Savings business1, $1.6bn US Retail Protection business2, £17bn Retail Annuity business3, £2bn UK Protection business4, and £5bn Equity Release mortgage business5.
Bernie became CEO of L&G Retail at the start of 2022, bringing together the Insurance and Retail Retirement divisions into one customer focused division. The Retail division employs over 5,000 people, serving 14m customers and members, and delivered £825m6 operating profits in 2022.
The Retail Annuity business has recently been growing at a rapid pace with H1 2024 premiums of £1.2bn, double H1 2023 of £0.6bn, while market lifetime annuity sales grew c.55% in the same period7. Highly effective pricing, strong distribution relationships, operational scaling and a data led approach all contributed to this strong market outperformance.
Bernie was appointed as CEO of the Insurance Division in 2016, including becoming CEO & President of Legal & General America. Through a technology and data-led growth strategy the US Retail Protection business has been growing new business sales by an average annualised rate of 12% since then8.
Bernie joined L&G in the DC pensions team in 1998 before moving into Retail Protection in 2000 and becoming MD of the Retail Protection business in 2005. A strategy focused on technology, data and customer centric innovation has been a major contributor to UK Retail Protection growing from c£100m premiums in 2000 to over £1.5bn in 20239. L&G has been the largest provider of UK Retail Protection products in every year since 200310.
In 2010, Bernie moved into Group wide roles, running the Solvency II programme before becoming Group Financial Controller and Investor Relations Director. In 2014, following the Pension Freedoms changes, Bernie became MD of Individual Retirement, resetting the strategy for the Retail Annuity business. He led the launch of a range of fixed term annuities and the entry of L&G into the equity release lifetime mortgage market in 2015. Through a technology enabled strategy, effective pricing, product development and distribution engagement, the lifetime mortgage business rapidly scaled to a 30% market share within the first two years of operation11.
Bernie Hickman, CEO Retail, L&G said: “Legal & General has been a great place to work for the last 26 years and I have enjoyed creating strong businesses with multiple competitive advantages that deliver for our 14m customers and members, shareholders and wider society. The doubling of Retail Annuity sales in the past year is one of many stand out successes alongside the double digit growth of the US Retail Protection business, and the market leadership of the UK Retail Protection business over two decades.I would like to thank all the people I have worked alongside to deliver the many business successes, especially my current Retail Leadership team who have worked with me to lead a culture transformation in the Retail division creating empowered multi-disciplined teams who are delivering at pace and enabling greater customer centricity. I know I am leaving the business in good hands and positioned for continued success.”
António Simões, Group CEO, L&G said: “Bernie has been a great colleague who has consistently delivered for customers in the many roles he has fulfilled over the last 26 years. His passion for deploying technology and data to enable a better customer experience with greater cost efficiency will be a lasting legacy and the Retail division is well positioned for the next phase of ambitious growth. I want to thank Bernie for all he has achieved and delivered at Legal & General and wish him well for the future.”
References
1Workplace Savings Assets Under Administration, 30 June 2024.
2US Retail Protection Gross Premiums, Full Year 2023.
3Retail Retirement annuity assets, Full Year 2023.
4UK Retail and Group Protection Gross Premiums, Full Year 2023.
5UK Lifetime Mortgage Loans, 31 December 2023.
6Full year operating profit 2022, under IFRS4. Full year operating profit 2023 was £408m, under IFRS17.
7ABI data, H1 2024.
82016 H1 sales, $41m; 2024 H1 sales, $103m.
9UK Retail Protection Gross Premiums, Full Year 2023.
10Swiss Re Term Health Watch reports.
11Legal & General Group PLC Interim Management Report 2017 (legalandgeneral.com).