The Nucleus chairman and founder of Skandia, Paul Bradshaw, has died, it was announced today.

Mr Bradshaw was chairman of the wrap platform since June 2006. He was also non executive director at Sanlam and chairman of the board at River & Mercantile.

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David Ferguson, Nucleus chief executive, said: “Right from our very beginning, Paul has been a massive inspiration and a huge part of the Nucleus journey. A man of enormous intellect, great passion and with an insatiable hunger for what comes next.

“Nucleus, the other companies he was involved in and the wider industry are lessened by his passing but we will work harder than ever to ensure his legacy here is a positive one.”

Mr Bradshaw was a non-executive director of Sanlam both in the UK and in South Africa and joined the board back in 2008.

Jonathan Polin, CEO of Sanlam financial services group, said: “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of Paul’s passing. Throughout Paul’s long and distinguished career, he was consistently ahead of his time in his thinking and execution.

"His passion for the industry and advice was boundless. A man who guided us, supported us, challenged us and led us to make the right decisions. A towering light, who gave us his time, wisdom and fun. I am the lesser for his going. His contribution to Sanlam was invaluable and his presence will be sorely missed by all.”

Tributes have been paid by industry colleagues.

Lang Cat principal Mark Polson told FP Today: "Sometimes you’re lucky enough to find yourself in a room where you have the chance to learn from someone who can genuinely change how you approach things, and maybe how your business or career will end up. When you do, you drink it up.

"I was lucky enough to be in that position a couple of times with Paul, and I got so much from his free dispensing of wisdom. I remember calling a colleague after one meeting and saying ‘if I’d had to pay for that I wouldn’t have been able to afford it’.

"I think Paul did that kind of thing as a matter of course, and it’s one of the reasons so many in the industry owe him a debt and will be so sad today.

"Paul also had a glint in his eye, a mischievous sense of humour, a wonderful way with a seriously off-colour anecdote and an ability to snap from that to laser focus on the serious issues. All of these were a joy to watch, and we will miss them, and him."

He also tweeted: “Properly sad to hear of Paul Bradshaw's passing. Add us to the list of people he was thoroughly decent to.”

Sad to hear of #PaulBradshaw death. Industry Giant is an overused term, but not in his case. Genuine visionary, and a nice bloke to boot.

— Graham Bentley (@GrahamBentley) January 13, 2017

Mr Bradshaw owned his own consulting firm and was an Institute of actuaries Fellow From 1971 – 1974.

Stephen Gazard, managing director at Sesame Bankhall Group, recently hailed Mr Bradshaw on LinkedIn.

His post read: “I first met Paul when he chaired the Sumus PLC board in a non exec capacity.

“He was once referred to in a trade newspaper as a 'veteran' of financial services, which. whilst I am sure didn't help him feel young. very aptly described his huge depth of knowledge of the financial services sector.

“Paul has a lightning fast mind with an ability to cut to the core issues almost instantly and provide clear direction and support.

“I would highly recommend Paul and feel very humbled to have had the opportunity to work alongside him during my career.”