Paul Geddes was appointed as Chief Executive of RBS Insurance in August 2009, and is leading a significant turnaround of the business, which returned to profit in the first quarter of 2011, ahead of its planned divestment from the Group in 2013. The business is Britain’s leading motor and home insurer, with over 4m policies and some of the best known brands in the industry, including its own brands Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege and Green Flag, as well as partners like Sainsbury’s, Prudential and Nationwide Building Society. It also has a successful commercial insurance business in NIG, and a successful and growing franchise in Germany and Italy, where it is the number one direct motor insurer.
Prior to his move to Insurance, Paul was CEO of UK Retail Banking, RBS Group from 2006, where he led one of the UK’s largest retail banking businesses and a team of over 30,000 through a challenging period for the industry, improving its customer and financial performance against peers. He initiated a major transformation programme involving a significant investment in technology and the repositioning of NatWest behind "Helpful Banking". He joined RBS Group in 2004 as Managing Director, Marketing & Strategy, Retail Banking.
Before financial services, Paul held a number of senior roles in multi-channel retailing. He was appointed Marketing Director at Argos in 2001, a role which included responsibility for Argos’ online business. During this period the company increased sales by fifty per cent, doubled profits and won awards for marketing and eCommerce, as well as Retailer of the Year 2003. His career began at Procter & Gamble, with UK and European roles, followed by senior Marketing roles in retailing at Superdrug and Comet.
Paul read PPE at Oxford, graduating in 1990, and remains a supporter of his college through music scholarships. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, a member of the ABI Board and a member of the FSA Practitioner Panel.
He is married with two daughters and lives in London. Away from work, he has a keen supporter of the arts and an active musician.