Bluefin's chief trading officer Graham Coates has resigned and is leaving the company with immediate effect.

Coates's responsibilities have been picked up by chief operating officer Mike Bruce who is becoming group managing director reporting to chief executive Stuart Reid.

Neil Thornton has been promoted to head of commercial division responsible for mostly SME business.

"Graham has been a loyal and trusted lieutenant for many years and helped create the Bluefin you see today - a top ten broker with 1650 people at over 50 locations," said Reid.

"I am grateful for all his good work and wish him every success in his future career."

Coates' insurance career started in 1980 with Royal Insurance and then Provincial Insurance which was subsequently acquired by AXA in 1996.

He joined Stuart Alexander in 2002 and was part of the management team that negotiated the broker's sale to AXA in 2007 and the ultimate creation of Bluefin where he has been chief trading officer since 2009.

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.