Direct Line Group today announces the appointment of Simon Linares as Human Resources Director. Simon will be a member of the Executive team and report into the Chief Executive Officer, Paul Geddes.
Simon was previously Group HR Director for ITV, having joined from Telefonica where he was HRD for their digital businesses globally. Prior to that Simon was Group HRD of O2’s European businesses, having had previous success in senior HR roles with Diageo.
Paul Geddes, CEO, Direct Line Group says:
“I am delighted to welcome Simon to our team. He brings extensive experience from consumer and digital businesses which will be invaluable to Direct Line Group as we continue our transformation.”
Simon will start on 1 September 2014.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Jennifer Thomas
Head of Financial Communications
Direct Line Group
Tel: +44 (0) 1651 831686
Direct Line Insurance Group plc
Direct Line Group is headquartered in Bromley. The Group has operations in the UK, Italy and Germany. Through its number of well known brands the Group offers a wide range of general insurance products to consumers. These brands include Direct Line, Churchill and Privilege. The Group also provides insurance services for third party through its partnerships division, Brand Partners. In the commercial sector, the Group’s NIG and Direct Line for Business operations offer insurance products for businesses distributed through brokers or direct, respectively.
Notes to editors:
- We are the UK's only diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
- We help our 25.3 million customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
- We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2025, we paid £31.9 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
- Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
- As at 30 June 2026, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £479 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus was £6.8 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
- For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
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