It is understood that no other partners chose to put their hat in the ring and that nominations are now closed. The election will be held next January, with the new term commencing February 2017.

Chief executive

Mr Thomas became senior partner of the firm in 1996 and currently performs that role in addition to chief executive duties after previous chief executive Guy Stobart stood down at the end of 2014.

International growth

Mr Thomas has overseen Kennedys’ growth into an international insurance player in his time as senior partner. The firms has offices in locations including Sydney, Hong Kong and Miami and in the past year has expanded aggressively, opening in Copenhagen, Brazil, Peru, Chile and Colombia. It also announced last week that it will double the size of its office space in Dublin.