Our report on the restructuring of AIA Australia’s operations and its key senior management appointments was overwhelmingly the Riskinfo Story of the Week…
AIA Australia has announced its current head of AIA Financial Wellbeing, Pina Sciarrone, has been appointed to the newly-created position of Chief Retail Insurance and Advice Officer.
Sciarrone’s elevated role is one of the outcomes stemming from an organisational restructure designed, according to the insurer, to allow it to simplify how it delivers its life, health and wellbeing proposition in a more integrated way.
In a related development, the insurer has announced its Chief Retail and Partnerships Officer, Sam Tremethick, will be departing in October following 12 years working with the organisation across its Australian, Asian and New Zealand operations.
A statement released by AIA advises Sciarrone will be responsible for the distribution channels across its Retail Life and AIA Health functions in addition to her current AIA Financial Wellbeing responsibilities.
It also notes its Retail Life Distribution business will continue to be headed by current GM Retail Distribution, Craig Parker, while current GM Direct & Advice Distribution, Alan Caputo, will head the firm’s Health, Banca and Advice Distribution business.
Support teams restructure
The restructure also sees AIA Australia’s Underwriting team move into its Claims, Operations and Customer Office, which is currently led by Tracey Crowe, who joined the insurer in June 2024 after spending more than 12 years with BT Financial Group/ BT Life Insurance.
The insurer has also created a dedicated function responsible for Product and Pricing across both its Life, AIA Vitality and Health Insurance businesses, which it says will form part of a new Marketing and Propositions team, led by current Chief Shared Value & Marketing Officer, Stephanie Phillips.
Rationale
In speaking with Riskinfo, AIA Australia MD and CEO, Damien Mu, offered additional context around this most recent restructure. He positioned the changes as an evolutionary move intended to better align the systems and structure of the organisation to an outcome that can best deliver – not just around product and service – but also on AIA’s broader agenda which seeks to contribute to Australians leading healthier, longer and better lives.
This agenda seeks both social and economic change which will ultimately contribute to the betterment of the Australian community and the social, business and regulatory systems which support it.
