AIA Announces New CEO to Further Strengthen its Malaysian Business
7 mins read
Kuala Lumpur, 13 May 2015 – AIA Bhd. has announced the appointment of Anusha Thavarajah as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), subject to Bank Negara’s approval. Anusha will take over the helm from current CEO Bill Lisle, who has been appointed Regional Chief Executive of AIA Group overseeing AIA’s operations in Malaysia, Korea, Cambodia, India and Sri Lanka.
The CEO appointment, which will take effect on 1 June 2015, subject to Bank Negara’s approval, comes just two months after AIA Bhd. announced a strong set of business results for the 2014 financial year. Anusha will report directly to Bill Lisle, who will in turn report to AIA Group Chief Executive and President Mark Tucker.
Anusha is the first woman to join AIA’s rank of CEOs in the life insurer’s six largest markets in the Asia Pacific region. She will be responsible for steering AIA Bhd. on its continuing journey of strong growth and transformation.
Ng Keng Hooi, Regional Chief Executive of AIA Group said, “I am delighted to announce these two key appointments as they exemplify the depth of talent we have within AIA and our commitment to promote from within our Company. Both Anusha and Bill have played a pivotal role in the integration and transformation of AIA in Malaysia over the past two and a half years and will continue to work closely to steer the company to its next phase of growth.”
“I have full confidence that Anusha will provide great leadership to AIA’s operations in Malaysia as she builds on the transformational initiatives spearheaded by Bill Lisle, who successfully led AIA Bhd. through the largest merger and acquisition exercise in Malaysia’s life insurance industry in 2013,” he said at the press conference held today.
Anusha’s focus will be on strengthening the company’s multi-distribution channels to narrow the protection gap; enhancing the AIA customer experience by focusing on ease and simplification and leveraging technology to boost choice and convenience for its customers.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to build on the foundation and strategy laid together with Bill to take AIA Malaysia on its next phase of accelerated growth,” Anusha said.
In her current role as Regional Business Development Director of AIA Group, Anusha has provided strategic leadership to AIA’s businesses in Southeast Asia, working closely with the country management teams to achieve their business goals.
Anusha joined AIA Bhd. in October 2011 as Deputy General Manager of Finance & Actuarial. During that time, she played a key role in the successful integration of AIA and ING’s businesses in Malaysia, reshaping the financial plans and strategies of the “new AIA Malaysia”.
Bill joined AIA Bhd. as Chief Executive Officer in December 2012, when he was tapped to lead the complex and large scale integration of AIA’s businesses in Malaysia following its acquisition of ING’s insurance businesses in Malaysia. Under his leadership, AIA Bhd. continued to showcase strong business performance as evidenced by positive financial results for two consecutive years, despite the challenges of integration.
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About AIA Bhd.
AIA Bhd. is a leading insurer in Malaysia, where we have been privileged to do business since 1948. We offer a suite of high-quality products including Protection, Health, Personal Accident, General Insurance, Employee Benefits, Retirement and Family Takaful solutions to meet our customers’ protection and financial security needs at every life stage. Through our wide and diverse distribution footprint which comprises a 16,000-strong Life Planner force, our exclusive bank partner’s branches nationwide as well as corporate sales teams and brokers, we give our customers the choice of deciding how, when and where they connect with us.
Part of the AIA Group, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group, AIA Bhd. has the financial strength, experience, service centre network and a well-trained team of more than 2,000 staff to serve our 3 million customers nationwide. As at end 2014, AIA Bhd.’s total asset worth was RM46 billion, with a paid-up capital of RM767 million.
About AIA
AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 26 per cent joint venture in India and representative offices in Myanmar and Cambodia.
The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai over 90 years ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$172 billion as of 31 May 2015.
AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 29 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.
AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).
