Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has named Peter Taylor its new group chief risk officer (group CRO), replacing David Watts, who will leave the group on February 11, 2022.
Taylor has over 30 years of corporate experience, including several enterprise risk roles with large financial services companies. For 10 years, he has also worked with regulators, boards, and management.
He will join IAG from Westpac Banking Corporation, where he was the general manager for enterprise risk, responsible for group-wide aspects of risk management, assurance, and governance. For 11 years, he worked in risk-focused roles at Commonwealth Bank, including as EGM, chief operational risk officer, CRO Group Business Services Australia; EGM and CRO, Wealth Management Australia; and general manager and CRO, CommInsure.
The appointment follows the insurance giant’s announcement about managing director and CEO Nick Hawkins’s new role at the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), replacing Sue Houghton as the CEO when she completes her term at the end of the year.
Taylor will join IAG in mid-2022, with the appointment still subject to the completion of regulatory approvals. Until then, IAG chief insurance and strategy officer Tim Plant will take on the additional role of acting group CRO.
Commenting on Taylor’s appointment, Hawkins said: “The combination of his skills with his passion for risk means he is extremely well equipped to take on this hugely important role for IAG.”
In a further change to IAG’s group leadership team, Craig Olsen, group executive strategic projects, has advised he will leave the group on February 28.
Commenting on the departure of Watts and Olsen, Hawkins said: “I am grateful for the significant contribution both David and Craig have made to IAG and the personal support they have provided to me. I wish them both well as they embark on the next stages of their careers.”
