Insurance Australia Group (IAG) surprised yesterday with news of a changing of the guard at the top of the company with a new CEO named.
The insurer said it had chosen its technology boss Peter Harmer as the new CEO to replace Mike Wilkins, who will retire from the $12 billion insurer later this year.
Mr Harmer is the former chief executive of IAG business insurance subsidiary CGU. He moved to a new role at the insurer’s digital arm, IAG Labs earlier this year.
He will take on the new role in November, while Mr Wilkins, who has led IAG for the past seven years, will stay on in an executive capacity until March next year.
IAG chairman Brian Schwartz said in a statement that Mr Harmer’s track record in creating successful businesses and transforming cultures made him the right person to lead IAG.
“Peter has a great passion for leadership, developing people and delivering to customers and, coupled with his extensive insurance industry experience, he is ideally suited to lead IAG through the next phase of its growth and development," he said in a statement.
"Peter led a tremendous turnaround in the culture and performance of CGU during his time as its CEO. More recently, as CEO of IAG Labs, Peter has laid the foundations for IAG’s digital future.
"The board has always had a strong focus on succession planning with a commitment to developing internal candidates as potential CEO successors. Peter’s appointment demonstrates this commitment and highlights the depth of talent within IAG."
IAG 1Y – Changing of the guard at IAG
Mr Wilkins joined IAG as chief operating officer in November 2007 before being made CEO in May 2008, just as the GFC was starting to break over the economy and financial system.
Mr Harmer, who is a keen advocate for technology, said he was looking forward to building on the current opportunities in the market.
"We live in an age of disruption where the needs and expectations of our customers are changing rapidly as they embrace innovation and quickly adopt new technologies," he said in a statement. "New and different competitors are entering the market and even the way we work is transforming, with a greater focus on inclusiveness and agility."
"There are so many exciting opportunities with these changes, and because of the platform Mike has created we can embrace them from a position of strength. We’ve already started to do this and I look forward to building on these opportunities,” he said in yesterday’s statement.
Mr Wilkins led IAG through a period of severe natural disasters including the Christchurch earthquakes and Brisbane floods four years ago and a succession of storms and bushfires in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.
Earlier this year he also struck a deal with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway which bought a shareholding in the company in exchange for a profit share agreement. It has virtually taken IAG off the takeover list for any insurer wanting entry into the Australian market. Mr Wilkins was also instrumental to IAG’s push into six Asian countries including China and India, which was part of the attraction for Berkshire Hathaway.
IAG shares ended up 0.2% at $4.98 after being slightly lower for most of the day.
