//
About

Meet the team

plus sign

David Franks

Chief Executive Officer

plus sign

Ben Lenighan

Chief Digital Officer

plus sign

Dave Hanley

Chief Operating Officer

plus sign

Jason Walsh

Chief Product & Marketing Officer

plus sign

Marc Denny

Chief Revenue Officer for Middle East, Asia & Oceania

plus sign

Matt Gibson-Drury

Chief Technology Officer

plus sign

Michael Honiball

Chief Financial Officer

plus sign

Stuart Barclay

Chief Revenue Officer for the Americas & Europe

Blue x icon

David Franks

Chief Executive Officer

CEO and lead investor in Protect Group. Built and sold a financial services group with $1.5bn funds, 20 offices and 150 staff.. Qualified Chartered Accountant, MBA (Wharton School of Finance University of Pennsylvania) and author of eight books on taxation, management buy-outs and cash management. Worked in banking in London and New York.

Has invested in about 40 unquoted companies over the past 8 years (mostly in past 4 years) across a range of industries but a predominance in disruptive technologies.

Keen racing sailor.

Blue x icon

Ben Lenighan

Chief Digital Officer

Ben joined the original core team at Protect Group in 2017, initially leading sales activity. As Protect Group quickly scaled, Ben advanced through various leadership roles, including Head of Commercial where he managed all key Partnerships and led our partner success team, and Director of Product creating the foundation of our core product Refund Protect. Seeing success in price and content optimisation and the growing importance of AI and data-driven insights, Ben was promoted as Chief Digital Officer in 2024, leading our Digital Team to build, manage and continuously optimise our Protect AI models, Dynamic Pricing and Content offerings, and utilise data to enhance our product performance for Protect Group global Partners.

Ben’s previous background includes a Marketing Degree from Northumbria University, and prior to Protect Group worked as an Account Manager at a leading UK Marketing Automation company, servicing key accounts by creating and implementing strategic marketing automation campaigns for multi-billion Dollar public corporations across Financial Services, Building and Construction, Cybersecurity, and Retail.

Blue x icon

Dave Hanley

Chief Operating Officer

Dave joined the business in 2020 as Chief Commercial Officer primarily engaged with leading the management of our Partner relationships and building our Customer Experience function from the ground up. Moving to the COO role in 2024 Dave now oversees a wider remit focused on enabling the business to meet its strategic objectives.

Prior to joining Protect Dave had spent most of his career in Mobile technology and Insurance, leading the development of sales programs, trading and supply services, and claims management, which had taken him from the UK across Asia where he now lives. 

A father of four with a love of travel, fitness and rugby.

Blue x icon

Jason Walsh

Chief Product & Marketing Officer

Jason is our Chief Product & Marketing officer and joined the business in May 2024 as the most recent addition to the Leadership Team. His remit covers all product, branding and marketing activity, as well as leading on our incubator businesses and developing the overall business strategy. 

Jason's previous experience is drawn mainly from the Financial Services / insurance industries - with his most recent role being as CEO of CPP Group Plc, a UK listed multi-national B2B2C product and services business. Jason is based in our Leeds office in the UK with his team members based there and across our South African and Uruguayan offices.

Outside of work, Jason is kept occupied by a busy family life with seven (mainly) grown-up children and all the chaos that brings with it!

Blue x icon

Marc Denny

Chief Revenue Officer for Middle East, Asia & Oceania

Marc is our Chief Revenue Officer for the Middle East, Asia and Oceania regions. He joined Protect in 2019 and has held roles with the Company in London, Istanbul, Montevideo, Buenos Aires and latterly Bangkok, Thailand (our Asian HQ) where he now resides with his wife and newborn baby. Marc is also responsible for leading Protect’s innovative Global Insurance programs.

Marc is a Financial Planner by trade and holds Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), IIQE and CeMap qualifications. He has worked in Banking and Insurance for over 20 years and has held roles at Royal Bank of Scotland, Kaizen PF, Bupa and Cigna (Anthem).

Outside of work, Marc travels frequently with his family, participates regularly in veterans rugby tournaments across Asia and enjoys following Arsenal FC (when time zones permit).

Blue x icon

Matt Gibson-Drury

Chief Technology Officer

Matt is our Chief Technology Officer and was brought into Protect Group when our technology was brought in house 4 years ago. A developer at heart, Matt has a degree in computing and business, Prince2 certification and Microsoft Developer certifications.

With over 25 years experience, this is Matt's first role within finance and insurance tech having previously worked in industries ranging from consumer electronics, luxury travel and warehousing and logistics.

Matt's passion is solving real world consumer problems with innovative technical solutions.

Outside of work, Matt loves travelling, reading, a good box set, Huddersfield Town FC, Formula 1 and padel tennis.

Blue x icon

Michael Honiball

Chief Financial Officer

Michael, the Chief Financial Officer of the group, joined the business in 2023 and is currently based in the Cape Town office. His strategic focus is on expanding the finance and compliance functions of the group, a crucial step to support the sustained growth of the business.

Michael is a qualified Chartered Accountant with a proven track record in Financial Services, having worked on SA-listed audits while at PricewaterhouseCoopers and in the Private sector thereafter.

He is a car and fitness enthusiast outside of work, reflecting his belief in a balanced approach to personal and professional growth.

Blue x icon

Stuart Barclay

Chief Revenue Officer for the Americas & Europe

Stuart is a Senior Sales Executive with extensive experience in creating ancillary revenue streams, delivering insurance solutions, and optimising BPO processes. He began his career at Capita, where he provided market-leading Business Process Outsourcing services to global brands. Stuart has since worked with CPP and AmTrust, focusing on generating significant ancillary income through tailored solutions.

At Protect Group, Stuart drives growth and develops strategic partnerships to enhance business performance. He is recognized for his ability to lead enterprise sales efforts and deliver solutions that effectively meet client needs.

Most of his free time is dedicated to his family, Stuart is married with two boys. I love all sports, especially football. Recently, I moved to Uruguay, where I discovered the locals' incredible passion for football even surpasses the Brits!