AIA Australia has appointed Paula Bourke as its new Chief Retail Insurance Officer, which the insurer says reflects its continued focus on delivering sustainable growth and strengthening support for its advice partners and customers.
Bourke will lead AIA Australia’s Retail leadership team “…bringing together the organisation’s retail product, pricing, distribution and retention functions as part of a broader strategy to drive quality growth and enhance customer and adviser outcomes.”
CEO and Managing Director Damien Mu says Bourke’s appointment marks an important milestone in the company’s Retail growth strategy, noting she is a highly respected leader with deep expertise across life insurance, reinsurance, product innovation and business transformation.
“Her breadth of experience, customer focus and proven ability to lead high-performing teams make her exceptionally well placed to lead our Retail business as we continue to grow and evolve.”
…The new structure of the Retail team represents an important step in delivering the firm’s strategy…
Mu says the new structure of the Retail team represents an important step in delivering the firm’s strategy.
“By bringing together our product, pricing, distribution and retention capabilities, we are creating a stronger, more connected structure that optimises how we can be supporting advisers, meeting the changing needs of customers and delivering sustainable growth.”
He says Bourke’s leadership “…will be instrumental in helping us realise that ambition, and I look forward to seeing what the team achieves together.”
Bourke joins AIA Australia from SCOR Australia and New Zealand, where she was CEO. Her career spans the full insurance value chain, including senior leadership roles at SCOR, BT Financial Group/Westpac and CommInsure.
AIA says she has led growth and transformation initiatives, developed digital and AI-enabled propositions, supported product and pricing strategy, and built strong partnerships across insurers, advisers, superannuation funds, distribution partners and regulators.
Bourke says she’s excited to join AIA Australia at a pivotal time for both the business and the life insurance industry.
AIA Australia also acknowledged “the significant and impactful contributions” of Stephanie Phillips and Pina Sciarrone, who will be leaving the organisation at the end of September.
“After distinguished careers with AIA Australia spanning more than 15 years each, Stephanie and Pina have decided that this is the right time for their next chapter. AIA Australia thanks them for their leadership, passion, dedication and service to our partners and our customers over many years and wish them every success for the future.”
