The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is rising after the insurer revealed a major board reshuffle.
IAG is the parent business of a number of insurance companies across Australia and New Zealand such as NRMA Insurance, CGU, SGIO, SGIC, Swann Insurance, WFI, NZI, State, AMI and Lumley. It also has an interest in a general insurance joint venture in Malaysia.
IAG's board retirements
The IAG Chair, Elizabeth Bryan, will retire from the company at the annual general meeting (AGM) on 22 October 2021 after six years leading the business.
To replace her, the new chair will be Tom Pockett. Mr Pockett has been a director of the business since 2015 and chair of the audit committee. He is also the chair of both Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX: SGP) and Autosports Group Ltd (ASX: ASG).
Ms Bryan said:
The IAG board under Mr Pockett's chairmanship will be a strong one that will combine a deep understanding of IAG and its Australian and New Zealand business with its new members' deep insight into the developments taking place in the international general insurance market.
A second director, Duncan Boyle, will also retire from IAG's board on 22 October 2021. Mr Boyle has served on the board for five years, including three years as the chair of the risk committee.
Chair Ms Bryan acknowledged the contribution that Mr Boyle had made to the board's deliberations with its long experience of the global insurance industry.
With the impacts of COVID-19 still being felt, the IAG share price is down 5% over the last five years.
New directors
IAG also announced that three new directors will join as part of the process to renew the board to ensure it has the right mix of skills and experience to support the company.
The company said that the new directors "bring deep insurance and public company governance experience to their roles, and their skills will supplement those of the existing directors."
The three new directors are: David Armstrong, George Sartorel and Scott Pickering.
Mr Armstrong will become the new chair of the audit committee, at the end of the 2021 AGM. IAG said he is a well-known and highly respected company director. The insurer also said that he's a former partner with PwC specialising in financial services. He has a "deep knowledge" of audit and risk control, and experience with Australian public companies.
Mr Sartorel has had a long career with Allianz Group and was most recently the regional chief executive of the Asia Pacific division. IAG said that he had returned home to Australia and brings with him experience in creating and leading large, innovative insurance companies with digital business models.
The company noted that Mr Pickering has also had a successful international career as a global insurance executive. He has had senior leadership positions with Royal Sun Alliance and Willis Towers Watson. Mr Pickering has recently retired from the role of CEO of the NZ Accident Compensation Corporation.
IAG share price
The IAG share price is up 4% at the time of writing. That brings the market capitalisation to $12.3 billion according to the ASX.
