Clive Cowdery
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Sir Clive Cowdery | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 May 1963 Bristol, England |
| Education | Clevedon Comprehensive School |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder of Resolution, a global life insurance group |
| Children | 6 |
Sir Clive Cowdery (born 26 May 1963)[1] is an English businessman and philanthropist who made a personal fortune in the insurance industry, founding two FTSE 100 insurers[2] and a third insurer which was sold to Nippon Life for $8.2bn in October 2025, which represented 77% of the outstanding shares not yet owned by Nippon Life, valuing the business at $10.6bn.[3] Cowdery has since donated large amounts to charity[4], including the Resolution Foundation which he founded in 2005.[5]
Born of Anglo Danish parentage[6] in Bristol, England, in 1963, he is the second of five siblings.[7] He was educated at Clevedon Comprehensive School (now Clevedon Community School), and earned three O-levels and no A-levels.[7]
Career
Clive’s career as a leading life insurance executive and entrepreneur has encompassed start-ups and large businesses across markets in the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States and Asia.[8]
From 1998 to 2003, Cowdery was chairman and chief executive of General Electric Insurance Holdings, with operations in 12 countries in Europe.[9]
In 2003, Cowdery founded his first business under the Resolution brand, which invests in life insurance consolidation. Since then, Cowdery’s Resolution companies have deployed over US$20 billion of equity in the acquisition, reinsurance, consolidation and management of life insurance companies. Together, these companies have served the needs of c.15 million policyholders while managing over US$375 billion of assets.[10]
His first Resolution vehicle consolidated four major UK closed life insurance companies from Royal Sun Alliance, Swiss Life, Britannic and Santander (Abbey National Life).[11] The FTSE100 insurer was sold to Pearl Group in 2008.[12]
His second Resolution vehicle merged FTSE 100 insurer Friends Provident with AXA's UK life business and other assets. The company was sold to Aviva in 2015 for £5.2 billion.[13]
These two completed projects made significant total returns for shareholders.[14][15][16]
In 2018, Cowdery founded Resolution Life, a global life insurance group with the specialist model focusing on the acquisition and management of life insurance companies and portfolios of existing life insurance policies.[8] Prior to the sale to Nippon Life, Resolution Life, managed c.$90 billion of assets with portfolios and reinsurance treaties across the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia.[17]
In Australasia, Resolution Life created a specialist life insurance business focussed specifically on the needs of existing customers rather than the promotion of new policies through the acquisition and integration of a number of businesses.[18] These included the US$2.1 billion acquisition of AMP Limited’s life insurance business, AMP Life;[19] AIA Australia’s superannuation and investment life insurance business in July 2023;[20] and the NZ$410 million acquisition of Asteron Life New Zealand from Suncorp Group Limited in February 2025.[21]
In addition, Resolution Life operates a global reinsurance business in Bermuda.[22]
In October 2025, Resolution Life was acquired by Nippon Life. Cowdery remains its executive chairman.[23]
As part of the transaction, Resolution Life Australasia and Nippon Life’s Australian company, MLC, merged to form Acenda Group, a new entity in the Asia-Pacific insurance market.[24]
According to a Bloomberg article in 2025 his net worth was estimated at £200 million.[2]
Charitable works
Since formation of his Resolution vehicles Cowdery has devoted half of all proceeds to charity.[25] The Resolution Foundation, an independent social and economic research organisation set up by Cowdery in 2005, is considered to be one of Britain's leading authorities on low earners[2] and the policy responses required to lift their living standards.[6]
Other professional interests
Cowdery is the owner of Resolution Media which invests in media assets and is Publisher of the magazine Prospect, a current affairs magazine.[26] Along with George Soros, he was an early funder and served as a member of the governing council of The Institute for New Economic Thinking[27] and, until February 2021, he was also a founder and director of Best for Britain, a group campaigning to stop Brexit.[28][29]
In April 2025, Cowdery acquired an equity stake in The Observer and joined the media outlet’s board.[30]