IAG CEO overhauls leadership to make business 'more resilient'

Australian general insurer IAG has unveiled several key leadership changes, including a senior hire from Chubb, in a move its  chief executive Nick Hawkins hopes will make the company's business model "stronger and more resilient".

The new appointments follow changes to IAG’s operating model and executive team in November last year, including the split of the company’s Australia division into Direct Insurance Australia and Intermediated Insurance Australia.

Neil Morgan has been named chief operating officer (COO) of IAG. He will retain his accountability for technology and digital from his previous role as group executive technology and operations.

Julie Batch is appointed group executive of Direct Insurance Australia and will immediately move into role after acting as group executive of Intermediated Insurance Australia since November, in addition to leading IAG’s strategy & innovation division. Batch was previously the company’s chief customer officer.

Jarrod Hill will join IAG in September as group executive of Intermediated Insurance Australia from Chubb Insurance where he was country president of Australia & New Zealand.

Amanda Whiting has been appointed CEO IAG New Zealand after acting in the IAG Direct Insurance Australia role since November and will take over from Craig Olsen in August, subject to completion of regulatory approvals in New Zealand.

Whiting will have executive accountability for Intermediated Insurance Australia until Hill joins in September. Olsen will continue to report to Hawkins after August, working on IAG’s corporate priorities as Group Executive Strategic Projects.

Commenting on the management changes, IAG chief executive and managing director Hawkins, said: “I’m pleased to announce several key executive appointments today as we move to quickly embed our organisational structure led by a strong, experienced and disciplined leadership team. The appointments are testament to the capability we have within our company and our ability to attract new leaders to the business.”

He added: “Julie is an insurance expert with more than 15 years’ experience at IAG leading reinsurance, underwriting, strategy and innovation. For the past five years, Julie has helped to simplify and improve the experiences we can provide to our customers, and I’m excited to see that potential deployed within our Direct Insurance business.

“Jarrod is a seasoned commercial insurance executive with a strong background in technical underwriting and brings with him more than 30 years’ industry experience. We have an opportunity to build a strong intermediated business and I look forward to welcoming Jarrod to the team to drive that work.

“Neil has helped drive a step change in technology for IAG since he joined three years ago and has more recently been accountable for enhancing operational efficiency and alignment across Australia and New Zealand. Neil’s combination of technology, digital, operational and execution skills will be critical to progressing our strategic priorities and enhancing our customers’ experiences with our brands."

Hawkins concluded: “I’m pleased to announce Amanda’s appointment as CEO New Zealand. Since joining IAG in 2008, Amanda has shown a deep passion for our customers and our people, successfully driving improvements across our direct and commercial insurance businesses. I’d also like to thank Craig for his significant contribution to the success of our New Zealand business over the past nine years, five of those as CEO.”

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