buzzvault doubles team in readiness for November launch

In readiness for a consumer launch in November 2018, buzzvault insurance has doubled its team in the past few months. Fresh recruits to the business are blockchain, IoT and cyber security expert John Sotiropoulos, who joins as Chief Technology Officer, Head of Pricing, Paul Vinten, digital brand strategist Chris Sherlock who has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Content, Alex Cherry.

buzzvault insurance will be the first truly personalised home insurance policy based on a customer’s own secure digital inventory of their possessions, stored on the blockchain.

John Sotiropoulos joins buzzvault with a proven track record in successful start-ups and award-winning products. His experience ranges from enterprise-grade products, highly scalable transactional systems, IoT and cloud SaaS tech to machine learning, deep learning, sentiment analysis and blockchain. He is currently completing a GCHQ-accredited distance-learning MSc on Cybersecurity.

Head of Pricing at buzzvault, Paul Vinten has nearly ten years’ experience in personal lines pricing and is well placed to understand the challenges faced in the startup space having worked previously with new ventures. The knowledge Paul brings will help buzzvault harness the power of its unique contents data to drive growth for the business.

Digital marketing expert Chris Sherlock brings over 25 years’ experience to his role as CMO. He has an in-depth understanding of emerging technologies and their commercial applications and will leverage his international business experience as buzzvault targets overseas growth following a successful UK launch.

Prior to buzzvault, Alex Cherry worked in insurance publishing and events but saw an opportunity with buzzvault to ‘do’ Insurtech rather than just talk about it. As Head of Content, Alex will look to engage with potential buzzvault customers across all channels, helping to convey the clearer, fairer, lower-hassle experience the proposition promises – in particular to the millions of people currently living without insurance.

Becky Downing, CEO of buzzvault, said: “buzzvault is going to transform home insurance by putting customers in control through their contents data. That means we need people who get how big a deal this is and aren’t afraid to challenge the accepted ways of doing things. This is insurance but not as you know it.

“John’s wide tech experience will not only help us deliver a highly secure product in an age of increased security threats but he will also ensure we constantly innovate to make everyday customer experiences better. Paul’s pricing expertise will be vital in enabling us to utilise data to benefit the customer and the business going forward.

“From a marketing perspective, Chris will put us on the map as a fresh, trusted and exciting new brand and Alex will be a key asset as we build engagement and trust in a market where this is so sadly lacking.

“We are launching a completely new concept in home insurance with integrity, simplicity and transparency at its heart. Under the leadership of Charlotte Halkett (MD buzzvault product) and Darius Medora (MD buzzvault operations), our team is getting ready to solve many of the problems the sector has faced due to a home insurance process that has been overcomplicated for too long, leaving consumers at risk of underinsurance.”

Please feel free to use the accompanying image with this release: (left to right) Head of Pricing – Paul Vinten, Chris Sherlock – Chief Marketing Officer and Alex Cherry – Head of Content