Howden's South Wales commercial division has appointed Mathew Price (pictured) as an account executive, continuing the broker's investment in its regional team.
Price joins from Aon, where he spent six years working with a diverse book of clients.
In his new role, Price will focus on delivering tailored risk solutions, supporting risk management initiatives and identifying new business opportunities across South Wales, the South West and the West Midlands, managing and developing client relationships, structuring insurance programmes and placing cover in the market.
Howden's South Wales presence traces back to Aston Lark's 2022 rebrand under the Howden name, after which regional managing director Gary Stevens set out an explicit ambition to double the Welsh team and become the leading commercial broker in South and West Wales, opening a dedicated Swansea office in 2024 that had already added 14 brokers within its first two months. Howden's Welsh footprint expanded further through its 2021 acquisition of Watkin Davies, whose sales and development director, Daniel Abbott, joined Howden's South Wales corporate team in December 2024 and now serves as Howden's South Wales branch director for commercial, the role in which he welcomed Price.
More recently, Howden entered North Wales for the first time in October 2025 through its acquisition of Llandudno-based broker Gott & Wynne, and has since made further commercial hires in the north of the country, including appointing a locally based account executive in Wrexham earlier this year to support businesses across that region. Taken together, Price's appointment continues a pattern of steady, sequential hiring that has built Howden's Welsh operation from a single acquisition into a broker with commercial teams spanning both the south and north of the country.
Price said he was attracted to Howden by the opportunity to work closely with clients in the regional market, alongside a company with a strong reputation, entrepreneurial culture and commitment to empowering its people.
Dan Abbott, South Wales branch director for commercial at Howden, said the team was thrilled to welcome Price, whose focus on developing strong client relationships closely aligns with Howden's goals. He said the broker continues to build momentum in South Wales, crediting the ongoing efforts of the wider team.
What's notable about this appointment isn't the individual hire itself, standard broker recruitment happens continuously across the market, but the consistency of Howden's approach to building out Wales specifically: acquiring an established local player, retaining and promoting its existing leadership, then layering in external hires from major brokers like Aon once that leadership structure is in place.
That sequencing, buy first, then build, has now been repeated in both South and North Wales, suggesting it's a deliberate template for regional growth rather than an ad hoc pattern of individual appointments.
