The Conversation; A Portrait of Lloyd's Chair and Council

It’s a longstanding Lloyd’s custom that an outgoing Chair is captured in a portrait that commemorates their leadership.  

Chairs of our past are often presented in paint as lone figures. To mark the end of his eight-year tenure as Chair of Lloyd’s, Bruce Carnegie-Brown commissioned award-winning visual artist, Franklyn Rodgers to reinterpret this tradition through a modern lens.  

Bold and symbolic, the 2025 Chair’s portrait is a digitally-constructed photograph featuring Bruce alongside members of the Lloyd’s Council that supported his leadership. Shot in Lloyd’s Old Library, sitters are portrayed both in dialogue with each other and with objects from Lloyd’s historic Collection.

Classical in aesthetic and novel in approach, this portrait reflects on the life of our market through the idea of change within tradition. It also celebrates Lloyd’s spirit of innovation that was born in a coffeehouse and continues to drive our market forward today.  

Viewers are encouraged to explore connections between individuals, artefacts and meanings. In this way, the portrait mirrors our market’s ability to bring people and ideas together. The effect, as referenced in the work’s title, is to open conversation in respect to Lloyd’s past, our place in the present, and our potential futures.

You’re invited to take a closer look at the portrait and to explore the symbols and themes that contribute to its meanings.

Resilience
The heart of the composition contains symbols of Lloyd’s reputation for paying valid claims and our capacity to withstand significant losses. A Lloyd’s loss book sits at the centre, open at the page which records the infamous 1912 Titanic loss. A true test of Lloyd's ability to respond in crisis, the £1m policy covering the Titanic was paid out within 30 days of the ship sinking. On the table rests a miniature of the Lutine bell and Bruce holds a copy of the 1871 Lloyd’s Act, which established the Lloyd's Society as a legal entity.

Democracy
Leadership at Lloyd’s is collective – the sum of many voices – and reflects a market that operates on the value of strength in numbers. Guiding, challenging and advising the Chair, the Council of Lloyd’s is responsible for the governance and supervision of the market. In commissioning this group portrait, Bruce sought to highlight the democracy and camaraderie at the heart of his leadership.
Find out more about Lloyd’s Council members

Endurance
This landscape portrait is structured along the horizontal axis. Council members congregate between two clocks, two miniatures of our market's most recent homes, and along benches reminiscent of those in Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse. Taken in unison, the composition is not only suggestive of Lloyd’s enduring presence throughout time but the continuity we’ve been able to offer businesses and communities over the course of centuries.

Innovation
Lloyd’s has often been the first to insure new risks. As a nod to our history of innovation, a painting of Cuthbert Heath hangs above the Council. A celebrated innovator, he was widely recognised as a visionary of the Lloyd’s market and credited with creating the market’s first burglary policy and the first earthquake and hurricane insurance. To symbolise our present, a Lloyd’s Lab award flanks the Council on the right as a reminder of the daily innovation we’re introducing to our market as it seeks to address tomorrow’s risk challenges. Richard Dudley holds a laptop to signify changes to working practices brought about by the pandemic.

Culture
To the left, a portrait of David Flint oversees Council members in discussion. David was the first Black broker at Lloyd’s and has had an impressive career within the Lloyd’s market that spans over 45 years. He is represented here in a work that forms part of a series of Lloyd’s ‘Diverse & Inclusive Champions’ portraits, also created by Franklyn Rodgers for the 2023 Dive In festival. His presence in this portrait reflects Lloyd’s enduring commitment to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion, which has been one of four strategic pillars throughout Bruce’s tenure as Chair.
Find out more about David Flint and our D&I Champions

Values
In reflecting on our past, this portrait challenges viewers to consider the values our market should take forward. John Neal (CEO 2018-2025) holds a historic marine policy that formed part of Black Beyond Data’s research project, ’Underwriting Souls’. This study led to Lloyd’s launching the Inclusive Futures programme to support fair journeys for Black and ethnically diverse talent in our market. Sean McGovern holds an ornamental sword, issued by the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund in the early 19th century to British combatants for their bravery. Today, the Fund supports military veterans and families in need.

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“I hope this portrait shows that, at its core, governance of Lloyd’s is about working as a team to uphold the best traditions of the market while addressing the challenges of the present and seizing the opportunities of the future. Together, we aim to leave Lloyd’s in a place where it will continue to thrive.”
Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Lloyd's Chair 2017 - 2025

Meet the artist

Lloyd’s would like to thank Franklyn Rodgers and his team for their dedication to the 2025 Chair and Council portrait project.

We are grateful for Franklyn’s ongoing contribution to Lloyd’s culture and archival collection.

Find out more about Franklyn and his work