Tariq Siddiqi has been appointed as commercial director at William Russell, succeeding Michael Lewars who is leaving the international health insurance provider after four years.
Siddiqi was most recently sales director at HCA Healthcare UK which he left in 2018 and has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, including an 18-year career at Bupa.
During his spell at Bupa his roles included national account manager, head of the insurer’s affinity team and general manager of Bupa Travel.
He then joined Citibank in 2011 as head of sales and distribution before moving into a head of customer experience and business transformation role.
In his role at William Russell, Siddiqi will be responsible for the strategic leadership of UK and international sales departments, overseeing global new business and retention activity, leading broker distribution, and managing the global sales function.
He joins the leadership team and will play a key role in executing the firm’s overarching corporate strategy, the firm added.
Siddiqi said he was extremely appreciative of the opportunity to join William Russell and looked forward to learning from colleagues and partners across the globe.
“My aim is to truly understand the obstacles and challenges we need to solve to enable the William Russell team, and our intermediary partners, to service more clients across our markets, in a long-term sustainable manner,” he added.
Inez Cooper, managing director and co-founder of William Russell, said she was delighted to welcome Tariq to the business.
“Tariq’s core values and integrity align with those of the business, and the values by which we serve our clients and customers today,” Cooper said.
“Tariq has an impressive track record of sales leadership, business strategy and transformation across multiple sectors having held senior positions at Bupa, Citibank UK and HCA Healthcare. We felt his skill set and broad base of experiences would add significant value to William Russell.”
Ensure the right successor
On outgoing commercial director Lewars, Cooper said: “Michael was keen to ensure his successor was the right person, and that we were not impacted by the usual void period that follows a senior person moving on.
“We wish to put on record our thanks to him for facilitating this transition, and for all he has done for us over the last four years.”
Lewars added: “I feel a strong attachment to William Russell, so I was fully committed to ensuring that the person who succeeded me was proven and would not only take William Russell’s commercial operation forward, but also bring a fresh perspective, with new ways of working, and a degree of healthy challenge.
“Of equal importance was my desire to ensure that colleagues would feel at ease with the transition and the way we transitioned recognised and protected the strong relationships we have with all our business and distribution partners.
“I give my thanks to everyone at William Russell for four wonderful years, and I wish Tariq the best of luck in the role. I have great confidence in the company’s future.”