Our People

John Gilbert remains MMG’s principal adviser and will be your main point of contact with us. John is a retired solicitor and former partner at the City and international law firm, Hogan Lovells, where he worked for nearly 30 years before founding MMG. He has specialised throughout his legal career in the law and regulation of friendly societies and other mutual insurers and was the lead legal advisor to the sector on Project Chrysalis and on the Mutuals Deferred Shares Act 2015. His wide experience in the sector has included the incorporation of registered societies, s166 investigations into corporate governance and the drafting of the current rules of many societies both large and small. He is a member of the Regulatory Compliance and Governance Committee and of the Regulatory Strategy and Public Affairs Committee of the Association of Financial Mutuals.
 
Catherine McGuinness is also a former solicitor who practised in financial services both as a partner in the City law firm now known as Fieldfisher, and then in-house. She was until recently the Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee, in which role she steered the City through the trammels of Brexit and Covid. Catherine brings not only legal expertise to the firm, but also valuable wider experience of the financial services sector and the regulatory system. Her work for the financial services industry was recognised in the citation for her CBE, which she was awarded in the 2023 New Year’s honours list.
 
Richard Martin retired from the Financial Conduct Authority in 2014 after 42 years as a regulator of friendly societies with the FCA and its predecessor regulators, where he worked on nearly every friendly society transfer of engagements under the Friendly Societies Act 1992. This unique experience has given him an unparalleled insight into all aspects of the law and regulation of friendly societies. His direct responsibilities at the regulator also covered corporate governance and change of control applications under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.