Leading finance with purpose: interview with Paul Cooper, Group CFO of Hiscox

Hiscox has built its reputation as a leading specialist insurer by staying true to its values – Integrity, Courage, Ownership, Human, and Connected. For Group CFO Paul Cooper, these aren’t just words on paper; they guide everything from financial strategy to decision-making at the highest level across the world.

In this interview, Paul shares how a strong values framework helps Hiscox balance long-term growth with agility, manage diverse stakeholder expectations, and create real value beyond the numbers.
 

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Hi Paul. Tell me, how is the finance function set up at Hiscox?

Hiscox operates on a federated structure, with finance functions in each of our business areas: so London Market and Re & ILS on the big-ticket side, and UK, Europe and the USA on the retail side of the business. We have a Group structure, which includes FP&A, Group Finance, and specialist areas such as tax, investments, treasury, and investor relations. This serves as the central finance team, led by the CFOs, while specialist expertise is provided where needed. In total, we have about 400 people in our finance team spread across the world.

As CFO, where do you spend most of your time during the week?

There’s a natural rhythm to finance, so how I spend my time varies throughout the year. During results season, year-end and half-year reporting, business planning, and forecasting, my focus shifts accordingly. Alongside these cycles, I dedicate time daily to managing and developing the finance function and ensuring alignment with strategic priorities.
 

A significant part of my role is also stakeholder management – balancing expectations across the business as well as with shareholders and external partners. Given that financial considerations are central to every decision, understanding trade-offs and long-term outcomes is essential.

Would you describe your organisation’s strategic objectives as financially driven, or values-centric?

Both. We are financially focused because we are driven by maximising financial returns. But we are also a values-led organisation, which means behaviours and the way we conduct business are just as important.

There's a strong culture at Hiscox, led by our five core values. Integrity and Courage have been core to Hiscox for a long time. Integrity means delivering on commitments, while Courage is about making tough but necessary decisions. We also emphasise being Human, which is all about ensuring fairness, clarity, and inclusivity, and being Connected, fostering teamwork to achieve greater outcomes together.

Finally, Ownership is a fundamental value, encouraging everyone to take responsibility and treat the business as their own. This value is reinforced through share schemes, ensuring that employees feel a genuine stake in our collective success. These values underpin our culture and drive our strategic decisions, helping us maintain a strong sense of purpose as we grow.

How do you apply these values in your role as a finance leader?

My role extends beyond leading the finance function – it’s about stewardship of the business as a whole. I’m on the Group Executive Committee, which gives me broad influence on strategic decisions and cultural leadership. As part of this, I hold regular sessions with the finance community and wider leadership team, which includes around 150 of the most senior people in the company. These interactions help align finance with business priorities, reinforce a shared sense of ownership, and ensure that our decision-making reflects our core values.

How do you drive meaningful growth while staying true to Hiscox’s values?

There are a few key factors to this. First, we must understand the long-term strategy, the choices we’re making, and where we will need to focus our time and resources. The business planning process then needs to support that strategy, and finance plays a central role in enabling it.

Capital allocation is the next critical aspect – deciding where to invest finite resources to achieve the best returns. The CFO has a vital role in ensuring that investments align with strategic goals and maintaining discipline in execution. Meanwhile, finance is also monitoring performance, identifying when course corrections or additional investments are needed to capitalise on opportunities.

Given the range of stakeholders you manage, how do you prioritise and ensure that you meet their various requirements?

It’s a balancing act. Shareholders and the Board tend to be my principal stakeholders, but of course the CFO role also has a part to play with employees, regulators, and external interests. This is where having a good governance structure and forums, such as the Group Executive Committee and the Board, are vital to ensuring different perspectives are considered, enabling us to make informed decisions when prioritising different needs.

What obstacles have you encountered in managing a multi-stakeholder model?

While experience has shown the importance of having good governance structures, the challenge is managing competing priorities effectively.

For example, we have a board director who serves as an employee liaison, ensuring that employees’ views are formally represented at Board level and reflected on in decision-making. In our highly regulated industry, the Chief Risk Officer plays a crucial role in keeping us aligned with regulatory expectations, both current and future.
 

More broadly, businesses today face a wider range of stakeholder demands than in the past. Historically, the sole focus might have been maximising shareholder returns, but today, the landscape is more complex, requiring careful prioritisation.

How do you balance short-term goals, such as financial reporting, with long-term strategic objectives? Are there compromises?

It’s a fine line but you have to focus on executing a long-term strategy in order to be fit for an evolving market.
 

Our strategy serves as our North Star, ensuring we’re positioned to succeed over time. At the same time, there are short-term financial targets to hit, requiring tactical adjustments along the way. Compromises may come in the form of shifting priorities or refining our approach to ensure we meet immediate financial objectives while staying on course for long-term success.

Hiscox has been good at staying nimble, reacting quickly to new opportunities and challenges.

What enables Hiscox to be so agile, despite being a large business?

Culture plays a big role. We're low ego, low hierarchy, with a strong emphasis on speed of decision-making and getting things done. There’s a real can-do attitude and entrepreneurial spirit, which allows us to move swiftly.

People joining from other organisations often comment on the efficiency of our processes – decisions don’t get bogged down in unnecessary bureaucracy. That doesn’t mean there’s no governance. Rather, the right people review the right aspects, without excessive layers of approval.

And finally, what skills do you think are essential for a modern CFO to be effective beyond the immediate finance function?

Having a curious mindset and a willingness to engage with different areas of the business. Asking the right questions, understanding different perspectives, and building relationships beyond finance are crucial. It’s about developing a broad perspective and seeing how all the pieces fit together as finance is central to every decision the business takes.

While first-hand experience in different functions can be valuable, what matters most is staying connected, continuously learning, and ensuring financial decisions align with the overall business strategy.
 

Learn more about the emerging role of the Chief Value Officer

Download the report Chief Value Officer - The Important Evolution of the CFO

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