Bruce Carnegie-Brown recommended as Lloyd’s of London chair

Bruce Carnegie-Brown is to be recommended as the next chairman for Lloyd's of London, the insurance market.

A Lloyd's Council meeting is expected to be convened shortly, probably one day early next week, to ratify the decision. The Council has historically followed the recommendation of the Nominations Committee on important appointments. The appointment is also subject to the approval of the Prudential Regulation Authority.

The current Santander vice chairman, Carnegie-Brown was CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies' European operations between 2003 and 2006 in his one stint as an executive in the insurance sector. It is thought that he operates as a collegiate chairman without an ego and has a good way of getting people to focus on the matter at hand.

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The 58-year-old financier will replace John Nelson, who has held the post since 2011.

As Lloyd’s is a market, rather than a company, the role of chairman is different to that of a traditional corporate chair. As well as overseeing strategy and being the public face of the market, the chair also has to forge agreement between the underwriters, brokers and other interest groups that operate there.

Sources said that former trade minister Lord Davies and XL Catlin deputy executive chairman Stephen Catlin, among the other shortlisted candidates for the role, had not found favour with the Nominations Committee.