Horwich Farrelly, a leading specialist insurance industry law firm, has appointed technology expert, Chris Jekiel as IT Director.
Having held senior IT positions in a wide range of companies, including McDonald’s, Xchanging and Computacenter, Chris brings more than 20 years industry experience to his new position. In his most recent role, at top law firm and ‘magic circle’ business, Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer LLP, he held the position of Global Head of IT, managing a team of over 200.
In his new position Chris will be heading a department of 70 IT professionals, where his immediate tasks are supporting the launch of a new case management system – the firm’s biggest ever change programme – and ensuring the firm’s IT platforms are sufficiently robust and able to scale as the business diversifies and expands.
Chris said of his appointment: “I am thrilled to be taking up this role, in a law firm that is so successful within its specific sector. As well as leading the technical teams behind the firm’s new case management system, I will be developing the technology roadmap to improve agility, efficiency and sustainability, which includes adopting ‘paper light’ technology across the firm’s six offices.
“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 our clients 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, Chairman at Horwich Farrelly welcomed Chris’s appointment and praised his experience: “The insurance market is changing faster than ever with ever increasing pressures placed on improving efficiencies, without compromising the quality of the services we provide. Central to our business strategy is our new case management system which has seen more than 100 colleagues collaborate on the project. Now, with an experienced IT leader in place in the form of Chris Jekiel we look forward to executing our final launch plan.
“In addition, Chris is supporting our Risk & Compliance team in the final stages of preparation for GDPR. We are now in the process of contacting all our clients to ensure that our proposed solutions are aligned to their own compliance plans to ensure an even smoother transition ahead of the new legislation coming into force in May.”