Penny James was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Direct Line Group in May 2019, having previously held the role of Chief Financial Officer since joining the Group in November 2017.
Penny has extensive financial services experience, having been Group Chief Risk Officer and Executive Director at Prudential plc, where she was responsible for leading risk oversight globally. Before this, Penny was Director of Group Finance at Prudential. She had previously been Group CFO at Omega Insurance Holdings Limited and CFO, UK General Insurance, at Zurich Financial Services. Penny was also a NED of Admiral Group plc from January 2015 to September 2017.
Penny is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Penny is a Senior Independent Director of Hargreaves Lansdown plc, Chair of the FCA Practitioner Panel, Co-Chair of the FTSE Women Leaders Review and a member of the Association of British Insurers’ Board.