Howden CAP’s Mary O’Connor on improving regulation in UK finance and how City bosses should change their approach to gender diversity

Today’s guest discusses what regulators and lawmakers should consider in their efforts to rethink regulation for UK insurers post-Brexit. She explains what UK watchdogs should be doing now to foster innovation within the insurance sector, and how regulators themselves could innovate to improve rule-making for financial services firms generally. She also challenges City bosses in their approach to gender diversity within the financial services sector, and outlines how she plans to grow her new business to best reflect the lessons she has learned with regards to fostering diversity of talent.

These are all subjects close to her heart. Because Mary O’Connor is not only a former regulator whose 30-year career includes senior positions in the insurance sector. She also became the first women to head up a professional services firm in the UK when she became acting CEO of KPMG in 2021. In 2022, she joined Howden Broking as CEO of its new business Howden CAP (Capital, Advisory and Placement).