Fraud expert offered VFM directorship
Crawford & Company's international investigation services manager Will Gaskell is to join competitor VFM Services.
Gaskell said he was still in talks with the loss adjuster about his leaving date.
He would be the second fraud expert to leave Crawford in the past year.
Gaskell's colleague Gabrielle Ashley left Crawford in October 2001 to set up Absolute Customer Management with former Direct Line anti-fraud head Bill Trueman.
Gaskell worked for VFM's managing director Bill Jackson when Jackson established a conversation management system at Thomas Cook's travellers' cheque division.
Intriguingly, Gaskell said Jackson's refusal to compromise his high standards of work made accepting VFM's offer to become a director inevitable.
He will look after VFM's sales, marketing and customer relations functions.
Insiders said that the departure would be a blow to Crawford, as Gaskell's role in establishing and running its Score anti-fraud programme was specialised.