Standard Life Assurance owner Phoenix appoints new group HR director
Phoenix Group, the insurer that acquired Standard Life Assurance in 2018, has unveiled a change of group HR director.
Sara Thompson will be taking over from Stephen Jefford, who is stepping down from the role having been with Phoenix for four years.
Group chief executive Andy Briggs said: “Our people are our priority and they are what make a successful business. That’s become especially evident as we have worked to respond to Covid-19.
“Our HR function has been an important enabler in our strategic approach, and I’m very proud of how all our peoplehaverespondedtothechallenge, to support each other and to ensure we can continue to serve our customers.
“Stephen Jefford was due to step down last year, but stayed with the business to see through senior succession, delivery of our new colleague proposition, and the HR aspects of the anticipated Reassure transaction.”
Thompson has spent her entire career in HR and has worked for many multinationals, initially in the IT and telecom sectors, before building up “considerable experience” in financial services, including roles with Royal Sun Alliance, Barclays and, more recently, Aviva. Briggs is the former head of Friends Life and Aviva UK.
Thompson said: “Phoenix is already consistently recognised as a top performing employer. At this time of Covid-19,
the priority is making sure employees are fully supported in a very different environment.”
In March, Phoenix Group posted a double-digit hike in profits as its pension business benefited from UK companies rushing to offload risk ahead of Brexit.
Operating profits for the year to December rose by 14.4 per cent to £810 million.