Direct Line Group was named best place to work at the 2016 Marketing Week Awards, as well as taking home the CEO’s Award.

Given the credentials of CEO Paul Geddes, it is no surprise the company is rated highly as a marketing employer.

Geddes has a deep understanding of the role and importance of marketing within a business, having started his career as a marketer at Procter & Gamble. He later became the top marketer at Argos and then RBS Insurance before moving into the CEO position there in 2009, three years before it was spun off as Direct Line Group.

Geddes and group marketing director Mark Evans have helped to foster an appreciation for marketing across the group’s brands, which include Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege and Green Flag.

In the Marketing Week Employer Brands employee survey, the group achieved an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 when employees were asked about how the company perceives the role of marketing.

This embrace of the discipline is reflected in its advertising. Direct Line’s ‘Winston Wolf’ campaign has played a major role in boosting perceptions and awareness of the brand, winning the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s large campaign of the year award.

The company has also emphasised its commitment to diversity in the workforce. This includes setting up an internal ‘DNA’ group to promote an inclusive understanding of diversity.