Atradius Boosts its Collections Service

London, 18 April, 2005 - New appointments boost Atradius collections service.

A global leader in credit insurance and credit management, Atradius NV, is boosting its collections service, with the appointment of Gideon Jones as Head of Collections Sales in the UK & Ireland, and Brian Palmer as Group Product Manager for Collections worldwide.

 

Gideon Jones

Jones will head up a team of five in the newly created collections sales unit, based at Atradius’ UK headquarters in Cardiff. 

Speaking about his new role, Jones said: "Historically, our international commercial debt collection service was developed to meet the needs of our credit insurance customers. However, Atradius recognises that collections is equally of interest to the other businesses. Therefore we are now also offering it as a stand-alone service.

"My role is to develop Atradius’ domestic and international collections service further, and to tailor it to the needs of all our customers", commented Gideon Jones. "Our global capability – with our own collections units in nine countries across the world, and a network of over 100 partners in other countries – gives us a huge advantage, and enables us to maintain a high collections success rate, no matter where the debt might be."

Jones has been with Atradius in the claims and debt recovery area for 21 years. For the past three years he has been senior manager in charge of Special Risks, managing Atradius’ response to high profile corporate risks. He now reports to Will Clark, Regional Director for UK & Ireland, NAFTA and Australasia.

Brian Palmer

With more than 30 years’ experience in the collections industry, Brian Palmer joins Atradius’ global Strategic Marketing Unit. His role at Atradius is to develop the company’s group-wide collections product offering across all markets throughout the world.

During his long career in the industry, Palmer has held directorships at Credit and Business Services Limited, the Credit Services Association, Dun & Bradstreet and Registry Trust (The Registry of County Court Judgments). He has also acted as an independent consultant.

He is now based at Atradius’ London offices at 30 St Mary Axe (the Gherkin), and reports to Tarek Robbiati, Atradius’ Director of Strategic Marketing.

Commenting on his role, Palmer said: "Atradius is doing something different in the collections arena across the world. We are committed to offering our customers the right collections service, tailored to their particular industry or country. My role is to develop a group-wide marketing strategy that will deliver that to all our customers." 

Announcing the new appointments, Wilfried Verstraete, Atradius’ Chief Executive Officer, said: "Atradius’ collections service is going to be increasingly important over the next few years, so it is crucial that we create a strong team to take it forward. Both Gideon and Brian have impressive track records in the industry, and we are delighted that they are joining us to help grow and develop this important market in the UK & Ireland and across the globe."