Mark McIlquham has resigned as chief executive of Acrisure UK, and Katherine Cross, the firm's chief financial and operating officer, has also resigned. Companies House filings show their director appointments at Acrisure UK Holdings, Acrisure UK MGA and Acrisure UK Broking were terminated on June 19. The company confirmed the departures but has not said whether they took immediate effect or where either executive is headed next.
The simultaneity of the departures, and their timing, has not addressed. McIlquham joined in 2021 to build Acrisure's UK retail platform, overseeing around 15 acquisitions in his first two years before his oversight was extended to wholesale, reinsurance and corporate advisory. Cross joined as CFO in February 2024 as the platform was scaling. Both departed six months after McIlquham led a rebrand programme, completed in January, that brought previously acquired brokers - Sutton Winson, Affinity Brokers, FinCred, Russell Scanlan and WH&R McCartney - under the single Acrisure name. Whether the departures represent a natural post-integration leadership transition, an issue about direction, or executives moving on after completing a defined phase of the build, the company has not said.
Andrew Boyce is now acting as chief executive while a permanent search is conducted. He has been with Acrisure for more than seven years, joined before the UK acquisition programme began, and has held roles including international M&A director - a background that suggests continuity of the acquisition-led growth model during the transition rather than a strategic pivot.
Eleanor Gamble has been appointed chief operating officer. She has been with Acrisure for five years, joined from Deloitte as head of strategy for UK Retail, and most recently served as vice president of corporate development, international. Her strategy and operational background alongside the COO appointment suggests the interim period will emphasise integration and operational consolidation alongside any continuing acquisition activity.
Simon Cooter, a non-executive director at Acrisure UK Retail who joined from Covea Insurance where he was commercial lines and high net worth director, remains involved with the leadership team.
Acrisure has continued acquiring UK brokers and MGAs since the January rebrand. It absorbed four more specialist firms, including managing general agent Confidas, in April. Acrisure, founded in 2005, reports around US$5 billion in annual global revenue and has completed roughly 1,000 acquisitions across 24 countries according to its own figures.
The single-brand consolidation model McIlquham pursued is not unique to Acrisure. Ardonagh has unified acquired brokers including Bishopsgate, RCIB and Price Forbes under its retail and specialty platforms. PIB Group brought multiple acquired regional brokers under a single identity during a similar phase of its build. Whether Acrisure UK's next permanent leadership accelerates, pauses or redirects that strategy is the question the interim period will eventually answer.
