QBE announces people moves and realigns to become more customer centric
QBE today announced the appointment of two new General Managers to its Intermediary Distribution leadership team, as well as the creation of two new portfolios in its Australian and New Zealand Operations.
The moves have been made as the leading insurer simplifies its operating model and takes a more customer-centric approach.
Rebecca Engel has been appointed to the role of General Manager Underwriting Agencies, reporting in to Executive General Manager Intermediary Distribution Jason Clarke.
Rebecca was most recently at NAB where she held a number of senior roles over the past eight years and she is highly skilled at leading teams within complex environments. Rebecca will be responsible for working closely with key partners in the Underwriting Agency space to enhance relationships, drive customer focus and identify growth opportunities.
Further, Dean Cullen will take on the role of General Manager Specialty, including aviation, marine, construction, warranty and professional lines and will also report to Jason Clarke.
Dean has extensive industry experience and has most recently been leading QBE’s Travel, Motor Trades and Motorcycle businesses. Given their specialised nature, these teams will be incorporated into the Specialty team in an expanded portfolio.
The expansion of the Specialty portfolio and creation of the standalone Underwriting Agencies team has resulted in the creation of these two new roles.
In addition to the GM appointments, QBE announced the creation of two new portfolios, as the business looks to arrange itself to deliver the best possible outcomes in line with its strategic priorities.
A new team called People Risk has been created, headed up by General Manager, Adam Farr. This combines the Workers Compensation and Accident and Health teams given the alignment between the two areas.
Financial Institutions and Direct Consumer business units will combine as Consumer, Affinity and Banking Partnerships, in an expanded portfolio for General Manager Eleanor Debelle.
This move aligns the consumer-facing businesses under the one portfolio to provide a dedicated focus and help drives synergies.
Eleanor and Adam will continue to report to Executive General Manager Consumer and Retail Partners, Andrew Broughton.
ANZO CEO Vivek Bhatia said the changes would better align teams to take a more customer-centric approach.
“Our strategy is about putting the customer at the heart of what we do and these changes mean we will be organised in a better way to deliver on that,” Mr Bhatia said.
“Pleasingly, these moves have created new opportunities for our own people and allowed us to promote from within.
“Combining our direct to consumer and Financial Institutions business units will ensure our consumer-focussed businesses are aligned and positioned to respond to consumer insights that no doubt translate across our partners and direct offerings.
“In creating a People Risk portfolio, we’re better reflecting the structure of our major trading partners, while combining very similar businesses, both in terms of the product and the claims handling approach.
“I congratulate Eleanor, Dean and Adam on their new roles and I look forward to welcoming Rebecca to the team.”
The changes will take effect from Monday, 19 February.
ENDS