The Director of Distribution role sits much closer to proposition, marketing and data than it used to. A good one uses MI to see where the business is really coming from, shapes the proposition with the product team rather than just selling it, and is as credible in the boardroom as they are with clients.
What the job looks like depends on the firm and who it sells to. The audience can be retail and IFA, workplace, enterprise and banking, or institutional, and plenty of firms now sell into more than one. Each needs a different kind of leader, and someone who has done it brilliantly in one may not be right for another.
It's usually hired at a moment of change: a rebuild, a new proposition, a new owner. That means it's rarely a like-for-like replacement, and getting the brief right matters as much as the search itself.
Where I place Directors of Distribution
- Investment platforms
- DFMs
- Asset managers
- Life and retirement providers
- Fintech and wealthtech firms
Who I've worked with
I've been part of two distribution rebuilds this year, seven or eight hires between them.
How I work
Exclusive or retained, one brief at a time. That means a proper look across the whole market rather than the first ten CVs on a database, and a shortlist of people I've actually spoken to. Usually four, not forty.
If you're hiring a Director of Distribution, or rethinking what the role should be, I'd like to hear about it.