Lombard International Assurance, a leader in wealth structuring solutions, has appointed Paul Upchurch to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for its European operations, effective 4 September 2017.
He will report to Axel Hörger, CEO Europe of Lombard International Assurance.
Based in Luxembourg, Upchurch will lead a multi-disciplinary team including Client Services, Investment Administration, IT and Change functions. He will be responsible for advancing digital innovation, operations and capital investments across the European business with the aim of increasing Lombard International Assurance’s leading position in the market. In addition, Upchurch will join the Senior Management Team and will be involved in both developing and implementing the European growth strategy.
He joins Lombard International Assurance from Blackstone, where he served as Executive Director in their Portfolio Operations group. Here, he was involved in driving high performance and transformational strategies through the effective implementation of enterprise systems and operational improvements across portfolio businesses.
Before joining Blackstone, Upchurch served as Executive Vice President, Professional Services, at Nielsen, where he led teams in demand creation, pricing and trade optimisation and innovation. Prior to that, Paul spent 18 years in management consulting, guiding clients on a wide range of enterprise technology and operational improvements in Sales and Marketing, on complex, multi-year, USD1 billion-plus transformations.
Hörger, says: “I’m delighted that Paul is joining the leadership team. He has been highly successful working side-by-side with over 50 portfolio companies at Blackstone and overseeing significant investments in people, technology and operations. As a seasoned business operator, he has a distinctive blend of commercial, operational, and technological expertise, that will be an excellent addition to the team as we focus on further growing the business.”
Upchurch says: “I’m very excited to be joining Lombard International Assurance. I have a passion for developing leaders, building collaborative cultures and bringing innovation to businesses. I very much look forward to playing my part in contributing to Lombard International Assurance’s continued success.”
