The depth of experience and expertise in Pragmaticum is supported by a network of other specialists that in total provide high quality support and advice to clients regardless of their business type or situation.  Having worked together in this field for the past 19 years Adrian, Malcolm, and Michael, are joined at Pragmaticum by John who brings further considerable industry experience to the business.

The board have built up a high calibre network of subject experts who they are able to call upon as the need arises, and with whom they have had the pleasure of working alongside on past projects.

The reach in capability, integrity and authority from our people, and that is consequently available to Client’s of Pragmaticum enables every situation to be addressed confidently and purposefully.

Members of the Board

John Barber LLB, FCII,   Chairman

John's distinguished career began as a trainee at the Royal Insurance company. He had an accelerated path of promotion through the business becoming the Assistant General Manager of the company as well as the Managing Director of the Royal Reinsurance. Since then he has had similar high level positions at Municipal Mutual, and Imperial and Marine Reinsurance companies.

He has always maintained a close interest in the technical aspects of insurance as well as his senior management responsibilities, and after being Chairman of the Institute of London Underwriters, moved on to hold a number of  board positions in entrepreneurial businesses. He has  retained his interest in the industry and for over five years has been a senior advisor to the FSA.

As well as bringing technical insurance expertise to the business, John has extensive management experience at all levels and in a variety of businesses up to FTSE 100 size. He is a qualified Life Coach and Corporate Coach.

Adrian Maurice Bsc,   Managing Director

After graduating from Durham University with an honours degree in Zoology, Adrian began his career with Price Waterhouse and thereafter become a business interruption specialist. He sold the business he jointly founded with Michael Fox to a major client and continued to support its growth by adding to business interruption, further expertise gained from several major claims management projects, such as oil pollution claims in the wake of the Sea Empress disaster, and setting up the infrastructure and the medical assessment processes supporting the BERR’s (formally the DTI's) respiratory disease compensation scheme for miners.

Adrian’s business interests expanded from claims management systems into other areas of business process, such as document and content management, where for example he was responsible for the project to scan all the pension records for the NHS.  Having again sold his interest in the business he led for the past 10 years, the last five of which delivered £68.3m revenue with £27.3m PBIT, he left to become Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. In his year of office he enjoyed promoting and taking part in the many charitable activities of the company as well as fulfilling the varied civic and city responsibilities.

Adrian is now adding his past experiences with those of a group of 'big hitters' who have joined together to form Pragmaticum in order to provide a high quality niche service to the market that concentrates on early intervention and business recovery as well as the management of complex insurance claims.

Malcolm Stewart FCCA,   Technical Director

Malcolm began his distinguished career in business interruption from the the sharp (or hot!) end when the manufacturing business of which he was the Finance Director suffered a major fire. Some 20 years later he has amassed considerable experience in the assessment of complex commercial losses and has also expanded this talent to other related claims areas.

Malcolm is probably the world's leading authority on fishing claims having represented the majority of Spanish owned UK fishing companies that successfully sued the UK government (settlement of £20m). Over the past 15 years Malcolm has represented claimants for every European Oil tanker disaster (Braer, Sea Empress etc.). In doing so he has devised models for the various fisheries affected and conducted extensive research into market pricing to support the claims.

Malcolm has been appointed technical director due to his extensive practical and theoretical knowledge of the subject of business interruption insurance and claims. He has conducted numerous business interruption workshops for both the Chartered Institute of Insurers and the British Insurance Brokers Association. His paper on business interruption is available on the CII claims faculty website as no 1 in a series of professional pointers (http://www.cii.co.uk/knowledge/claims/professionalpointers.php).

Malcolm obtained an MBA (risk and insurance) with distinction in 2007 from the University of Nottingham which gives him both a practical and theoretical insight into both business interruption and the regulation of insurance services. He is now continuing his professional development by undertaking a part time PhD at Nottingham within the centre for risk and insurance studies.

Having worked on business interruption claims since 1990 and more recently litigation funding (in which he is also regarded as an international authority), Malcolm is currently retained by a FTSE 100 Plc as a claims consultant for third party recovery of losses they have suffered. These are complex multimillion pound claims involving layers of insurance with experts representing each layer. Malcolm’s expertise and performance has resulted in him continuing to be instructed on new losses for this client, as his expertise is not available within their risk and insurance department or externally.

Malcolm is also contributing to the current technical debate within the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters on the modernisation of the wording and interpretation of the business interruption policy, in particular with respect to the treatment of depreciation as a saving in standing charges.

Malcolm has joined Pragmaticum to continue to contribute technically and to be involved in the larger and more challenging loss scenarios which is the main market targeted by Pragmaticum.

Michael Fox FCA
Since leaving practice in 1965 after qualifying Michael held a position as Company Secretary in a fashion company and thereafter one as operations manager in a marketing business. In 1972 he began his career in Loss Assessing specialising in business interruption claims. He built up this practice becoming the business interruption department for Balcomes one of the leading Loss Assessing Company’s at that time.

Recognising the long term weakness of the loss assessor proposition, Michael was the sponsor for recruiting Adrian Maurice and Malcolm Stewart to help him in setting up a more professional niche service into the market. Michael continued to be a major influence in the business, taking it into other but related services such as handling the claims after the Braer and Sea Empress Oil Spills.

This business grew until in 1997 he was able to sell it to his largest client. Retaining an interest in this new business he was able to continue to innovate and expanded into areas such as Compulsory Purchase Orders particularly in advance of the 2012 Olympics.

Over this time Michael has concentrated on the representing his clients after they have suffered a loss. His experience is vast ranging from handling losses during the 'troubles' in Belfast through the IRA campaigns in the City to acting for large businesses around the country. He is well known in the Loss Adjusting world as technically excellent, a firm representer of his clients interests but a man who can appreciate a valid argument - if one can be made!