SSP executive chairman leaves

Laurence Walker, executive chairman of SSP has left the software house.

SSP says the decision was Walker’s, as he wanted to “focus on other business interests”.

Walker joined SSP in 2002 and was eventually appointed chief executive in 2007.

Unfortunately, during his time as CEO, SSP suffered from outages, the largest of which happened in 2016, which frustrated brokers.

Those outages had an effect on the companies reputation, as it suffered a disappointing score in the Insurance Times eTrading survey in 2017, with an overall score of 2.84 out of 5.

Its score improved in 2018, to just above 3, but still fell short of its rivals and the average.

Walker was replaced as chief executive in August 2017, by Steve Lathrope. Walker then took up the position of executive chairman. 

Lathrope said: “Laurence has been an invaluable support throughout our respective role transitions last year, and in my first year as CEO. Now that the new management structure is firmly bedded in, Laurence has made the decision to move on from his role as SSP’s Executive Chairman.

“As part of the team that founded SSP, Laurence has made a great contribution to the development of the business. I am excited to be at the helm for the next phase of our growth, as we take forward our vision for the company’s future.

“The whole SSP team wishes Laurence all the very best for the future, as he focuses on his other business interests and wide range of sporting activities.”

An SSP spokesperson has confirmed that Walker will not be replaced.