Hibernian group chief executive, Stuart Purdy, today announced the appointment of Paul Kelly to the position of group strategic marketing director.
Hibernian group chief executive, Stuart Purdy, today announced the appointment of Paul Kelly to the position of group strategic marketing director. This is a new role to reinforce Hibernian's position in the Irish marketplace as a leading brand and the number one composite insurer.
Paul joins Hibernian from Diageo Ireland where he most recently held the position of marketing director. Paul joined Diageo in 1997 and over the last 10 years held a number of pivotal roles on leading brands such as Guinness, Budweiser, Carlsberg, Smirnoff, Baileys, Smithwicks and Harp. This included a number of brand and marketing management roles before becoming head of innovation for Diageo new product development. A three-month stint in Australia followed, where Paul headed up a project to devise a five-year strategy for the growth of the Guinness brand. On his return to Ireland and at a time of great change for the drinks industry in Ireland, Paul played an early leading role in developing Diageo's responsible drinking marketing initiatives. He was subsequently appointed marketing controller for Lagers and then marketing director Ireland and has overseen marketing strategies and programmes for Diageo's brands resulting in market share and brand equity growth.
Stuart Purdy confirmed Paul Kelly represents a strong addition to the Hibernian Group executive team, which has seen a number of key appointments made in recent months. He said: "Paul is an excellent marketer with great strategic and commercial ability. His track record and experience in managing global brands will prove a very strong asset for Hibernian. Our business model has changed significantly in recent years and we now reach our customers in many ways, through our branches, the broker, AIB Bank and the internet. We offer a broad range of products in the car, home, pensions, investment and savings markets and while the Hibernian brand is an Irish household name we need to create a stronger link in our customers' minds so they appreciate the strength Hibernian can offer them."
Paul Kelly said: "This is an exciting new challenge for me. I'm very much looking forward to moving into the financial services arena and working with the executive team to leverage the strength of the Hibernian brand. My experience of developing global and local brands will stand me in great stead as we work to ensure Hibernian's place as Ireland's leading insurer."
Paul takes up his position in September.
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Contact:
Martina McDonnell, group corporate communications manager
01-898 8532 or 086-8042727
Notes to editors:
- Hibernian Group is Ireland's largest composite insurer, ranked first for general insurance and top three for life and pensions.
- Hibernian Group is a subsidiary of Aviva plc, the world's fifth-largest insurance group and the UK's largest insurance services provider (based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2005), and is one of the leading providers of life and pension products to Europe, with substantial positions in other markets around the world. Aviva employs 58,000 staff worldwide.
- Aviva's principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £35 billion and assets under management of £317 billion at 31 December 2005
- The product information above is for press release purposes only, full details are contained in the product literature available from Hibernian
- Hibernian news releases are also available on http://www.hibernian.ie/