Bronek Masojada, the former group chief executive of insurer Hiscox, has been elected the 698th Lord Mayor of the City of London and will take office at the Silent Ceremony at Guildhall on 13 November.
The City of London Corporation announced the result today following the election at Common Hall. Masojada will succeed Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley DBE, and the annual Lord Mayor’s Show on 14 November will be his first public engagement in office, the Corporation said.
His election follows a change to the planned succession. On Sunday the Corporation said Alderman Tim Hailes FKC JP had notified the Court of Aldermen of his withdrawal from consideration for election as Lord Mayor for 2026/27.
Masojada had been the candidate for 2027/28. The Court of Aldermen decided, “as part of established succession planning for the Mayoralty”, that he would be supported for election in 2026/27 instead, according to the statement. It said arrangements for the election would continue as planned. The statement did not give a reason for the withdrawal.
Masojada spent 28 years at Hiscox, including 21 years as group chief executive. The Corporation said he helped transform the company into a leading global specialist insurer.
He led Hiscox from 1993 and retired as chief executive of Hiscox Ltd in 2021, having overseen its transformation into a global FTSE-listed insurer, according to the Corporation. Before joining Hiscox he worked at McKinsey & Company.
He is chair of SiriusPoint and of Saltus, a non-executive director of Brown & Brown and an adviser to several fintech businesses. He has held senior roles across the insurance market.
He also chairs the East End Community Foundation, which supports communities across Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and the City of London, with work to improve life chances and employment prospects.
Masojada has been Alderman for the Ward of Billingsgate since 2019 and was a Sheriff of the City of London in 2023/24.
The Lord Mayor, who is elected for one year, acts as an international ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services sector. The Corporation said Masojada would champion the sector’s contribution to prosperity at home and abroad.
His programme will continue the work of successive Lord Mayors in connecting talent and capital with opportunity. According to the Corporation, it will explore how the UK can bring together investment, trusted institutions, talented people and international relationships to help businesses grow, support emerging industries and create opportunities across the country.
The Corporation said the 2026/27 programme continues the Mayoralty’s rolling strategic plan to connect capital with opportunity, rather than introducing a standalone annual theme for each Lord Mayor.
Langley’s predecessor, Alastair King, ran a mayoral programme called Growth Unleashed, under which Lord Mayor’s Awards went to businesses including the digital business banking platform Tide and payments company Guavapay. At a Mansion House event in November 2024, King proposed reforms to Individual Savings Accounts to encourage investment in UK assets.
The Corporation said that, at a time of global uncertainty, the Mayoralty would make the case for the UK’s enduring strengths and its role as a trusted partner that connects markets, nations and ideas. It said Masojada would work with government, business, local leaders and international partners, using the Mayoralty’s relationships and convening power to build partnerships and turn ideas into action.
Masojada said: “It is a profound honour to be elected as Lord Mayor of the City of London.
“I will showcase the many British opportunities, persuade British and international capital to invest in those opportunities, and champion talent, both, local and global.
“Talent is a bedrock on which everything sits. If you have the talent, they will spot the opportunities and attract that capital.”
According to the Corporation, the City supports 676,000 Square Mile workers and 24,000 businesses, and generates £109bn in output and £1.3bn in business rates. It said the financial and professional services sector raises £110bn in tax revenue a year and supports 2.5m jobs, two thirds of them outside London.
