Leadership Team

Benny Higgins
Group Chairman

Benny joined Markerstudy in 2020 and has vast financial sector experience. Beginning his career at Standard Life in 1983 as an actuarial student, he went on to become a member of the Standard Life Group Executive Committee in 1996. Roles at RBS and HBOS followed, before he joined Tesco Bank as Chief Executive in 2008 – 2018.

In 2017, Benny was asked by the Scottish Government to develop an implementation plan for the creation of a Scottish National Investment Bank. Subsequently he was appointed as Strategic Adviser to the First Minister on the building of the Scottish National Investment Bank and Chairman of Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Economic Recovery post COVID19.

Benny is also heavily invested in social and philanthropic activities, and is Chairman and on the board of numerous societies including the Edinburgh Fringe Society, The National Galleries of Scotland and The Buccleuch Group.

Kevin Spencer
Chief Executive

Kevin is the founder and a major shareholder of Markerstudy Group. He spent his early days as an insurance broker, then joined Lloyd’s broker, Edgar Hamilton, to become Managing Director. Kevin considers the creation of Markerstudy, one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, to be his proudest achievement, leading the group to achieve a turnover of £2bn. Kevin is a magistrate, sitting in central London and is also a qualified helicopter pilot.

Gary Humphreys
Group Chief Underwriting Officer

Gary is a shareholder and joint founder of Markerstudy Group. After a career in underwriting in the Lloyd’s market, he joined forces with Kevin Spencer in 1997 to establish the MGA that became Markerstudy. Gary continues to head up the insurance operations, as well as contributing to the development of other companies within the Group.

Keith Barber
Group Chief Financial Officer

Following a first class degree in Economics and Business Economics at Southampton University, Keith qualified as a Chartered Accountant whilst working for Ernst and Young. After several senior auditing roles at KPMG, he became Financial Controller in various divisions of Equity Group (formerly Cox). Keith joined the Markerstudy Group board in 2005 with responsibility for group finance.

Chris Collings
Non-Executive Director

Chris Collings is an insurance professional with a career spanning over 40 years in the insurance industry. Previously a director at Swinton Insurance, Chris has a wealth of experience in broking, insurer relations, customer services, claims management, product development, compliance and governance.
Chris is now a non-executive director and for the last 6 years has held Board roles in several companies within the Markerstudy Group, the UK’s largest MGA with 6m policyholders. Chris also chairs some of the group’s risk and compliance committees.
Outside of Markerstudy, Chris also sits on the Board of the MGAA (Managing General Agents Association), an insurance industry trade body looking after the interests of MGA’S.

John Jackson
Non-Executive Director

John joined Markerstudy in 2016 as a Non-Executive Director. John qualified as a solicitor in 1980 and was for some 25 years a corporate finance lawyer latterly with a large International private practice law firm specialising in advising listed Plc’s and large private companies. John then set up his own advisory business assisting companies with their growth and exit strategies as well as accepting NED/Consultancy roles for both UK and Overseas companies some of which were regulated. John is a sports fan, keen golfer and enjoys cooking and eating.

Lord Theodore Agnew

Non-Executive Director

In a career spanning 35 years, in both the private and public sector, Lord Agnew holds a number of advisory positions, is a Member of the House of Lord’s Industry and Regulators committee and Trustee of the National Institute of Teaching.

At the start of his illustrious career, he founded WNS Services Ltd, a claims management and third party administrator to the insurance sector, which he sold to Warburg Pincus. In 2004 he became CEO of Lloyd’s MGA Jubilee Insurance and affiliated businesses, a start-up venture with syndicates covering motor, life and specialty classes which was acquired by Aon Group in 2010. 

Between 2010 and 2017 he took Board and advisory positions in Government including the Lead NED at the Ministry of Justice, Chairman of the Academies board in the Department for Education (DfE) and NED at the DfE.  

In 2012, Lord Agnew founded the Inspiration Trust, an academy trust which now includes 16 schools and 10,000 pupils across East Anglia. In 2015 he was Knighted for his services to education.

In 2017, his passion to reform the UK’s education system led to him accepting the post of Lord’s minister in the Department of Education. In 2020, he was appointed Minister of State across The Treasury and Cabinet Office.

John Castagno

Non-Executive Director

John is an experienced NED with a demonstrated history of working in the insurance, technology, and services industry. He has enjoyed an illustrious career in the insurance industry spanning over 45 years which has included key leadership positions at several notable companies such as Legal & General, The Equity Group, Hastings Direct, British Gas and latterly Post Office Insurance.

Ellie Barlow

Non-Executive Director

Ellie’s experience lies in the Retail Financial Services market where she is an accomplished NED. Ellie’s formative career was in retail banking and she has an extensive background in senior executive roles for global insurers and price comparison brands such as Compare The Market, Money Supermarket and Zurich Insurance.

Steve Maddock

Non-Executive Director

Steve has an impressive 30 year insurance career which has included roles at Capita, RSA and Direct Line Group, where he was the Chief Operating Officer for twelve years, as well as a seven year spell as Chair of the Motor Insurers Bureau. Steve’s NED experience lies in the technology, digital transformation, cyber security sectors, Operations and Claims.