RL360° has appointed a new key member of staff as the company forges ahead with plans to expand into the Latin American market.
Leon Sears has taken on the role of Regional Sales Manager, Latin America and will get to work immediately on shaping RL360°’s future in the region. Leon has a solid foundation of contacts he can call upon, having worked on Latin American accounts for the major part of his career.
“It’s a really exciting time for me personally and for the company,” said Leon. “I believe there’s a lot of potential in Latin America. It is still a young market compared with various others around the world but it’s a very profitable, fruitful market.
“I think we are getting to the stage where the economies of the various countries are doing very well and outperforming developed markets. It’s time for people to stand up and take notice.”
Born in Flint, North Wales, Leon moved to the Isle of Man when he was 11 and attended Park Road and St Ninian’s High School. After toying with a career in computer programming, a period of sales work during his gap year changed his mind.
Leon began work in sales support at Friends Provident in 2003 and worked his way up to a field sales role. At the end of 2010 he took on full responsibility for field sales in Latin America and travelled regularly to the region.
January this year saw a fresh start when he took up the newly created role at RL360°, shortly after the announcement that the Royal London Group had agreed to a management-led buyout of RL360°. The MBO, backed by private equity firm Vitruvian Partners, left RL360° well positioned to move into new markets, such as Latin America.
“As soon as I sat down with RL360°’s International Sales Director Simon Pack I could see the benefits of being independent and shaping your own future,” said Leon. “It benefits everyone and, ultimately, it was another thing that made my decision to join RL360° a lot easier.”
Leon will be based in the Isle of Man but there will be a lot of travel to the region. The next step could be relocation.
He said: “It will be about embedding ourselves in the first year - we want to make sure we set ourselves up there for the long term.”
International Sales Director Simon Pack said: “I am delighted to have Leon on board. He is highly regarded in the Latin American market and will bring a host of new contacts and fresh ideas to our expanding sales team.”
