The directors of Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) went overboard with superlatives when they announced that Penny James would be the group’s chief executive from 9 May 2019. “She combines a deep understanding of our sector with outstanding leadership skills, financial and risk expertise, and deep strategic thinking,” they said. “The board is confident that Penny is ideally suited to leading the delivery of DLG’s short-term strategic imperatives, including technological and business transformation, and the development of the next stage of our strategy.”
She seemed a dream fit. She’d spent about three years as a chief financial officer in each of Zurich (general insurance); Omega (re-insurance); and Prudential, where she’d then become the group’s chief risk officer and an executive director. Then, after 19 months as Direct Line’s chief financial officer, in a triumph of succession planning, she became its chief executive. For a while, all went well, but in January this year, she departed by common consent. What went wrong?