Gallagher, a global insurance broking and risk management company, has announced the appointment of Alex Peake as Head of Warranty & Indemnity (W&I), UK & Ireland, within its Private Equity and M&A practice (PEMA).
Based in London, Peake will lead the continued growth and development of Gallagher’s W&I offering across the UK and Ireland. He will be part of its pan-European PEMA practice, which focuses on providing in-country expertise close to client communities.
He will work closely with private equity sponsors, corporates, advisers and legal partners to deliver tailored risk transfer solutions that help protect value, accelerate execution and provide greater deal certainty as clients navigate increasingly complex transactions.
Peake brings a decade of experience in transactional risk insurance, with a strong track record of advising private equity sponsors, corporates and their advisers on complex domestic and cross-border M&A transactions.
He joins Gallagher after nearly a decade at WTW, where he most recently served as a Director in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Transactional Risks team.
Gallagher said Peake’s appointment forms part of its wider investment in UK talent. Sean Grogan has also joined the PEMA practice as a Director, while Emily Sawyer has joined the M&A Advisors team and Max Marshall has moved into the Insurance Due Diligence team within PEMA.
Grogan brings eight years of experience across transaction services, corporate tax and M&A finance. His recent work has focused on private deals and mid-market private equity diligence across buy-side and sell-side processes, working with private equity, founder-led and corporate clients.
Marshall and Sawyer have also moved into the PEMA practice from other roles within Gallagher. Marshall previously worked as a new business project manager and consultant in the corporate insurance and risk management tender team, while Sawyer was a business development associate in Gallagher’s retail insurance broking team.
Steve Jones, CEO of Private Equity and M&A solutions in the UK & Ireland, said, “As a recognised market leader, Alex is a highly regarded transactional risks adviser who has dedicated the past decade to helping private equity and corporate clients navigate complex deals. The combination of his deep technical expertise, strong market relationships and commercial approach make him an outstanding addition to the UK and wider European leadership team across our expanding PEMA practice.
“With growing demand for insurance-backed risk transfer solutions that play an increasingly important role in facilitating successful M&A transactions, Alex’s appointment further strengthens our ability to help clients deploy capital efficiently, deliver greater deal certainty, safeguard investment returns and maximise value.”
Peake added, “Gallagher is creating one of the most exciting growth stories in the transactional risks market. The opportunity to join a business that is attracting leading European talent across multiple disciplines to build a differentiated platform wholly focused on deliver exceptional outcomes for clients was compelling. There is a clear ambition to challenge the status quo, expand capabilities and deliver innovative risk transfer solutions that help clients achieve greater certainty and unlock value throughout the deal process and beyond. I’m delighted to be part of that journey.”
