After joining M&E in February 1996 as non executive Chairman he and Simon Hudson, the CEO, teamed to achieve a Management Buy Out in April 2000 when the Tenet Group was formed. Following this, Kayes became Executive Chairman and successfully spearheaded the negotiations to attract major Insurance Providers to become shareholders in the Group. He feels that the time is now right to move on to other challenges in the Industry “It’s great to move on from a job well done and to do so at the right time, knowing you are leaving things in great shape. I’ve decided to retire now, well before time and leaving them gasping for more, rather than do a Tony Blair”.
As a well known and high-profile Industry figure with a wide breadth of experience on both the retail and manufacturing sides he quickly gained a reputation as a robust and well-regarded figurehead for the Group and was very popular with the Members. Being a keen Champion of the Industry as a whole, Kayes also devoted time to a range of important Industry initiatives. In addition to the Chairmanship of Tenet he is also a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) Faculty of Life and Pensions Advisory Board and a Board member of AIFA and AMI. In addition to these he is now looking forward to becoming more active in other Industry activities which he has previously not had sufficient time to pursue.
Prior to his successful career at Tenet, Barry Kayes was a member of the Senior Sales and Marketing Team at Friends Provident for 14 years and prior to this spent 21 years at Scottish Life.
Simon Hudson, CEO of the Tenet Group comments “Barry has been a major influence and key contributor to Tenet’s success over the past ten years, during which time he has also been a fantastic ambassador for the industry. I would like to thank him personally for his support and guidance and we wish him every happiness and good health for a long and well earned retirement.”
