MetLife bolsters Asia leadership in growth move

Insurer MetLife has announced new leadership appointments to further grow its business in the Asia region.

Kishore Ponnavolu, currently head of MetLife’s auto & home business in the US, has been named president of the company’s Asia region, based in Hong Kong.

In his new role, Ponnavolu will directly oversee Japan, Korea, Australia and LumenLab, MetLife Asia’s innovation hub. He will become a member of the company’s executive group, reporting to chairman, president and CEO Steven Kandarian.

Reporting to Ponnavolu, Rebecca Tadikonda will take up the new position of head of strategic growth markets, Asia. She will be based in Singapore, and have responsibility of Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Nepal and Vietnam.

In addition to her new duties, Tadikonda will remain in her current role as Metlife's chief strategy officer until a replacement is named.

Within auto & home, senior vice president of product management Mick Noland and vice president of claims Darla Finchum will serve as interim co-heads of the business while MetLife conducts a search for Ponnavolu’s replacement.

“Kishore has a proven track record of transformational leadership that engages customers, motivates employees, and drives profitable growth,” Kandarian said. “These highly transferable skills make him the right leader for our large and growing Asia business, and I have every confidence that he will take it to even higher levels of success.”

He added: “Rebecca is a world-class strategist who has helped MetLife chart a course toward greater customer centricity, efficient capital allocation, and a more attractive portfolio of businesses. With her background advising a range of companies in markets across the globe, including Asia, she was the natural choice to accelerate value creation in the region.”

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