A trio of industry veterans have joined Gallagher’s benefits and HR consulting division in the UK to grow the business.
John Deacon joins the division as head of corporate consulting, employee benefits, Lee Cook is now managing director of pensions administration services, and Vishal Makkar joins as managing director of UK wealth consulting.
All three moved to Gallagher through its acquisition of Buck in 2023.
Previously Deacon was head of employee benefits at Buck and brings more than 30 years of financial services experience. His corporate consulting team is part of the wider UK employee benefits business, which is led by managing director Steve Threader.
Deacon’s team will provide solutions in group risk, healthcare, workplace savings, and client technology to UK corporations and his focus will be to grow the firm’s employee benefits and HR sector products and services.
Cook was previously head of pensions administration at Buck and brings 32 years of experience in the pensions sector. His experience is across corporate pensions, employee benefits, software development, strategy and administration.
In his new role he will focus on strategy, financial performance and continued growth. His team is already responsible for delivering services for more than 170 pension schemes and 430,000 members.
Makkar was previously head of retirement consulting at Buck. He is a qualified actuary with more than 20 years of experience. In his latest role, he will offer strategic direction for the defined benefit pensions consulting business as well as having operational oversight of Gallagher’s actuarial, investment, and secretarial consulting teams. Makkar will provide guidance to trustees and sponsors of UK pension schemes to secure members’ benefits.
The three appointments follow the transition of David Piltz from UK managing director at Buck to CEO at Gallagher’s UK benefits and HR consulting division last year, as well as the recent appointment of Alistair Dornan as chief revenue officer. Gallagher said these two earlier leadership moves reflect the company’s solid growth trajectory in the UK.
Makkar said: “The UK economic environment has changed massively over the last few years, not least decades of high inflation and economic uncertainty driven by uncontrollable global factors. Trustees will depend on robust and clear guidance now more than ever. Whether it’s advice on scheme funding, investment strategy, risk transfer or governance, our consultants offer immense value through their expertise. It was with that in mind that Gallagher acquired Buck, and it is what will propel the business to setting the benchmark on wealth consulting over the coming years.”
Cook commented: “Gallagher is rightly committed to offering an outstanding customer experience to pension schemes and their associated members. Through our excellent delivery teams, complimented by our suite of digital solutions and our market leading communications teams, we are providing a valued combination of high-quality member engagement and strategic support to pension fund clients. It’s a privilege to lead the team as we rapidly approach 500,000 members who benefit from our leading solutions.”
Deacon said: “In a time where employee retention is an increasingly pressing challenge, companies must not underestimate the value of an employee benefits programme. Steady change management and intuitive benefits design will be key to ensuring employees remain actively engaged with their benefits. At Buck, we built up a considerable client base who trust us to deliver on-time and at a consistent level of quality. The opportunity to take this expertise to my role at Gallagher and to lead strategic thinking on our Corporate Consulting arm is a professional highlight.”
Piltz added: “Lee, Vishal and John’s leadership skills, work ethic and combined experience will be a welcome addition to the Gallagher team. Each of them offers a vast breadth of expertise that will provide a foundation for our growth as we continue to roll out fresh innovations across our pensions, administration, employee benefits, communications, and workplace culture offerings.”
