Leadership

Gary Duggan

Interim Executive Chairman

Gary has a wealth of experience in our sector of the market. He was the Managing Director of Junction, which also worked with affinity partners. He then served as the Chief Executive of Saga Insurance and most recently worked as the CEO of Tesco Insurance.

Paul Pestell

Chief Financial Officer

Bruce Reid

Commercial Director

Bruce’s career in the financial services and insurance sectors, spans more than 35 years, working with some well-known organisations in the respective markets, including BUPA and AIG. He has been with Hood Group since 2004, initially joining as Managing Director of Select & Protect, our own brand.

James Wallis

Chief Operating Officer

James’ commercial career spanned the boom and bust of the late 80’s housing market, before joining us as Head of Sales in 1994, going on to become a Director in 1997.

Mark Izzard

Hood Travel Director

Mark is a leading figure in the world of travel insurance distribution, having set up and been involved in many travel insurance brands over the last 15 years.

Darren Seymour

Associate Director - Operations

Darren focuses on ensuring that the Group’s customer service teams continue to deliver the highest levels of customer care. With over 20 years’ experience in service delivery.

Gavin Dobson

Associate Director - Technology & Data

Gavin has been part of team since 2006 and has a wealth of experience in marketing and e-commerce, developing solutions and launching new propositions across the marketing mix.

Ryan Fuller

Associate Director - Travel

Rachel Mulheron

Associate Director - Pet

With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Rachel has an impressive track record of success with established and start-up propositions in the Pet Insurance space.

Andy Homer

Non-Executive Director

Andy has over 30 years' experience in the insurance sector. As an angel investor he has backed more than 20 start-ups. Andy joined Hood Group as a Non Executive Director in 2018.

Mark Snaith

Investment Director

Since joining Connection Capital in early 2018, his focus has been private equity investments into SMEs which are predominantly located in the south of England.

Simon Hood

Non-Executive Director

Having stepped down in November 2025 from the CEO role, which he held for nearly 30 years, Simon continues his involvement with the business in a non-executive capacity.