Ripe appoints new head of M&A

Manchester-based insurtech Ripe Insurance has appointed Jamie Richards as its new head of mergers and acquisitions.

In his new role, Richards will lead the insurtech’s acquisition strategy, which sees the firm target deals across the commercial and specialist personal lines sectors.

His appointment comes after Paul Williams, chief executive of Ripe, teased a new hire to Insurance Times at the 2024 Biba Conference as the firm looks to complete more deals.

“Following our first acquisition of Craftinsure last year, this appointment reflects the importance of M&A in our future expansion plans,” Williams said.

”The investment of Aquiline Capital Partners in 2022 gives Ripe the firepower for our next growth phase, which will now be supercharged by our new head of M&A.”

Experience

Richards previously worked for financial advisory firm Deloitte as a senior member of the M&A team.

Williams said that Richards’ experience and profile will enable Ripe “to unlock new opportunities”.

Richards added: ”Ripe has an exceptionally unique and exciting proposition, which attracted me to this new role after 10 years at Deloitte.

”I’m thrilled to join the business at this time and be a part of its ambitious growth plans. I’ll be hitting the ground running, working on M&A opportunities where Ripe can add significant value to acquired businesses, especially through its marketing capabilities and proprietary technology platform.”