Hong Kong based Galileo Platforms appoints its first Independent Director

Simon Copley, a veteran with more than 30 years of experience, becomes the first Independent Director to join the Galileo Platforms board. 

From the UK originally, Copley has been advising many leading financial services groups in Europe and Asia, mostly on insurance, risk management, banking and capital markets. His experience extends to providing counsel on IPOs. He has spent 21 years as a partner at PwC in Hong Kong, and led the firm's regional insurance industry practice in what was a period of huge sector growth and transformation in the region.

Now Copley joins Galileo Platforms,  the  insurance technology company which is using blockchain to revolutionise the sector. Co-founded by Annette King, Jenny Sutton, and Mark Wales in 2016, Galileo Platforms, currently serves the property and casualty, health insurance and life insurance market. It uses blockchain to restructure the way insurance is designed, distributed and managed, and offers a secure platform that aims to reduce IT costs and eliminate high-cost, low-value components in the insurance distribution chain. It provides real-time transactions for purchasing and claims, on-demand insurance and micro-duration insurance innovations.

Now as the Hong Kong based  insurance technology firm gears up for a fresh funding and a pending product launch, it plans to learn from Copley’s experience. 

Galileo Platforms CEO Mark Wales said, "He brings a wealth of very valuable industry experience both in Hong Kong and across Asia Pacific. We see him playing an important role as we push into new markets and expand our product portfolio."

Last year, in October, the firm led a $2 Mn Series A investment round, with co-investors, Scale Investors in Australia and private investors in Hong Kong. At the time of funding, Chair of Galileo Platforms, Annette King shared that the vision of their firm is that blockchain technology can transform the insurance industry. As they focus on finding more ways in which they can leverage tech to innovate and build on their current services, the additional experience and oversight of Copley might be beneficial.