John Presland

It is with great excitement we announce our newly appointed information services expert, John Presland, as Chief Information Officer.

Having held a number of senior leadership roles within the insurance services sector, John has developed unrivalled experience successfully leading large scale complex IT integrations and multimillion-pound digital transformation projects. This includes senior roles at Churchill Insurance, RBS, Royal Sun Alliance and LV=.

His most recent role was as Head of Global Information Services Operations at the British Council, where he was responsible for service delivery in 220 sites across 120 countries.

John is no stranger to Horwich Farrelly having previously worked closely with the firm contributing his external expertise and insight to their IT strategy. In addition, he worked with Horwich Farelly’s Chairman, John O’Roarke, during his time at LV=, successfully transforming their business and creating one of the most successful insurance brands in the sector.

On his appointment, John said: “I am both delighted to be taking up this role in a law firm that is so successful within the insurance market – a sector I know very well. I am truly excited by the opportunity this gives me in an incredibly innovative and growing business

“Through continual investment in best in class IT solutions, we can help Horwich Farrelly’s legal and operational teams to carry out their jobs as efficiently as possible, thereby ensuring the insurance industry receive the best possible service. I believe my experience will ensure we do this to the highest standard, whilst also future-proofing the business from an IT perspective.”

John O’Roarke welcomed John’s appointment and praised his experience: “Even without the current crisis, the insurance market is changing faster than ever with increasing pressures on improving efficiencies without compromising quality of services.

“I know John well from our time together at LV= and, like all at Horwich Farrelly, he is results-driven, pragmatic but commercially focused and places great value on team leadership, development and engagement. Although joining us at a difficult time he has already got stuck in to his new role through meeting his team, negotiating with our IT suppliers and identifying key priorities. Importantly, these include a focus on the delivery of IT projects which will support new ways of working as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and which will be fundamental to our ongoing success as we emerge from it.”

Our People