Health Shield appoints CEO

Health Shield Friendly Society has appointed Jacqui Carr as chief executive, subject to regulatory approval.

An experienced HR consultant, Carr has worked with the cash plan provider for a number of years helping to re-engineer its approach to culture, staff and member engagement.

She will replace Geoff Spencer who was appointed interim CEO after Courtney Marsh stepped down last July.

Carr was director of operations at HomeServe UK before founding Eclipse HR Group in 2019. In previous roles, she has overseen significant change management projects in strongly regulated operating environments within financial services and other industries.

In her new role, she will lead the Society through the next period of its business-wide transformation.

‘It’s an honour to be appointed CEO of Health Shield; a Society with a long and enviable history, grounded in its strong mutual ethos; an ethos that is arguably more relevant than ever to our members,’ she said.

‘I’m really excited to be given the opportunity to lead the business, particularly to help engage our amazing workforce in our strategic plans, that will help to meet the ever-evolving needs of the Society’s members, guided by our promise to keep businesses and their employees in the best of health.’

The company also announced the appointment of Paul Shires as commercial director. He has over 30 years’ experience in financial services including managing director of UK Healthcare at Westfield Health and head of partnerships at Cigna.