"As Guardian continues to grow and challenge the market, Gower will play a key role in ensuring that, as our operations expand and the protection market evolves, we remain strong and forward thinking."
- Carlton Hood, CEO of Guardian
Prior to this appointment, Gower Wisdom (pictured) served as CEO of AUL Assurance.
In the past, he has also worked as product director at Skandia (part of Old Mutual Wealth and now Quilter) where he was responsible for its customer proposition and pricing strategy across the UK and international businesses.
Gower succeeds Duncan Mosely, who stepped down earlier this year, as of November 2025.
This appointment completes Guardian Financial Services’ (Guardian) executive committee, which now consists of Carlton Hood, Nischal Singh, Gower Wisdom, Hilary Banks, Julie Speiser, and Ruth Starsmeare.
In addition, Guardian has promoted Hilary Banks to the role of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). She has played a pivotal role in building its distribution footprint and commercial strategy for close to five years.
“Guardian’s consistent track record and proposition features like Payout Planner and the Cover Upgrade Promise clearly show how innovative thinking acts to move a market forwards.
“I’ve long admired this business’ bold and customer-centric approach to protection and its drive for better. I’m excited to further scale a business that’s already setting the standard for both innovation and experience,” he said.
Carlton Hood, CEO of Guardian, added: “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Gower before and know firsthand just how talented and value driven he is.
“As Guardian continues to grow and challenge the market, Gower will play a key role in ensuring that, as our operations expand and the protection market evolves, we remain strong and forward thinking.”
