Fergal Spencer joins EY insurance technology wing as Partner

EY has appointed Fergal Spencer as a UK Partner in its expanding technology consulting practice. Spencer joins the insurance technology leadership team, helping insurers advance their growth and innovation plans.

Paul Sparkes, UK Financial Services Consulting Leader at EY, stated, “I am delighted Fergal is joining our talented and high performing consulting business, as we accelerate our growth strategy. Fergal brings with him a wealth of experience in delivery, strategic planning and design expertise.”

According to Sparkes, appointing talent like Spencer will be crucial to EY’s support for clients in the insurance sector, as they navigate their digital transformation journeys. As is the case with the wider economy, insurers are now having to reckon with a challenging marketplace, while also seeking to boost their services with technological innovation.

In total, Spencer has over 25 years of experience in financial and professional services. He joins EY from HSBC, where he was responsible for strategic change and digital initiatives in the global commercial division of the bank. Prior to this role, Fergal spent 13 years at technology consultancy Accenture, leading the firm’s insurance practice. There, he shaped and delivered engagements across the insurance sector.

Fergal Spencer commented, “The insurance sector is seeing exceptional growth, but also disruption and challenge and I am excited to be joining EY at this pivotal time. Digital transformation and innovation are huge focus areas for insurers – as they are with all financial services firms – and I look forward to helping EY clients shape their digital future in this post-pandemic, fast-changing world.”

While close to half of all insurance firms believe they are implementing data-driven product development and using it for risk insights, fewer than one-fifth of them are actually ‘data-masters’, offering up major opportunities for firms which can come out ahead in the current economy. In fact, a poll from Capgemini recently found that the vast majority of insurance firms are still ‘data laggards,’ possibly because many firms neglect employee behaviours during digital transformation campaigns.