News

Car insurance chief shares the keys to success

(26 May 2006)

The Chief Executive of one of the UK’s leading car insurers will be passing on the secrets to his success in a special entrepreneurship lecture at Durham Business School.

Henry Engelhardt, head of the Admiral Group plc, will give a talk entitled ‘Internal innovation: how to motivate everyone in your company every day’. American-born Mr Engelhardt will be speaking at Durham Business School’s third annual ‘Entrepreneurship in Industry’ lecture on Thursday June 1. In mid-1991 Mr Engelhardt was recruited to create and run what has now become the Admiral Group, which has over 1.1 million policyholders and 1,800 employees. There are six brands under the Admiral Group umbrella: Admiral, Bell, Confused.com, Diamond, elephant.co.uk and Gladiator Commercial. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2004, where it was valued at £711m. Now a FTSE 250 company, Admiral Group’s value is over £1.5 billion. Peter Johnson, Professor of Business Economics at Durham Business School said: “We’re delighted Henry Englehardt is giving this year’s Entrepreneurship in Industry lecture. His impressive track record in business will make him a fascinating speaker. “I’m particularly looking forward to learning about what makes rapid growth companies tick and about the kind of influence a chief executive’s approach can have on a business as a whole.” Durham Business School’s Entrepreneurship in Industry lecture is an annual event aimed at anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship. Prof Johnson explained: “At Durham Business School, we’re always keen to learn from industry and these lectures are a really vital contributor to our research base.” Admission is free to the ‘Entrepreneurship in Industry’ Lecture, which takes place on Thursday 1 June at 5pm in the MBA Lecture Theatre at Durham Business School, Mill Hill Lane, Durham. No tickets are required, but places can be reserved by contacting lynda.anderson@durham.ac.uk or phoning 0191 334 5441.