Acquinex, the specialist financial lines managing general agent (MGA), has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Josh Cowen as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
This appointment follows that of both co-founders, Chris Jackson and Chris Thompson, moving into new roles within PIB Group, Acquinex’s parent since 2021.
In the new role, Cowen will report directly to PIB Group’s specialty business and will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the business. Most recently, he served at Chubb as Senior Vice President, International Transactional Risk. He has years of experience in the insurance and MGA sector, holding roles at Aviva, AIG and Fusion Specialty.
Jackson transitions to the newly created role responsible for PIB Group’s Specialty MGA strategy. He will be responsible for the company’s growth strategy into broader Specialty markets, which began earlier this year as he led the acquisition of Litica.
Both Acquinex and Litica will report to Jackson as specialist brands leading niche markets.
Meanwhile, Thompson will be the Head of Product Development within PIB Group’s wider MGA businesses.
Simultaneously, Henry Pearson has been appointed as Head of UK – Warranty & Indemnity (W&I), while Matthew Andrews joins as Head of Title. This series of key appointments aims to capitalise on recent market momentum.
Pearson joined Acquinex in June 2025 from Liberty Global Transaction Solutions, where he was most recently Head of UK, CEE and MEA. He has a legal background and moved into the insurance sector over a decade ago, and has since held roles at Ambridge Europe and Pembroke Managing Agency before joining Liberty Mutual.
Andrews joined Acquinex as Head of Title in May 2025, in the new role, he will focus on integrating Title into W&I processes in every jurisdiction.
He is an experienced underwriter across the UK and EEA, most recently serving at Aviva as a senior member of the Title team, responsible for launching and growing Aviva’s European underwriting team and creating the M&A and Title workstream.
Cowen stated, “As the M&A market continues to evolve, the need for accessible transactional risk and specialty insurance products is more important than ever before. There’s never been a more exciting time to join Acquinex as the business looks towards its next phase of growth, product offerings and global expansion. Acquinex has consistently demonstrated best-in-class service for its target market along with market-leading innovation – this is why it boasts such impressive client, broker and capital relationships. I’m excited for everything that the future holds.”
Chris Jackson, Co-Founder, Acquinex, commented, “As we enter the next stage of our growth journey, it’s critical that we have the right people to drive forward the business.
“We’ve invested heavily into our senior team this year, and we’re already seeing the appointments of Henry and Matthew paying dividends. Josh joining as CEO is a huge win for Acquinex and our clients. He has a proven track record working for international teams in large-scale companies, and I look forward to working alongside him as he leads and scales the core business.”
