Our Board
Tō Mātou Poari
Amanda Whiting (President)
IAG New Zealand
Amanda Whiting was appointed CEO of IAG New Zealand Limited on 1 July 2021. Since March 2021, Amanda has been Acting Group Executive Intermediated Insurance Australia and will retain this role for the time being, focusing on maintaining the momentum the team has built in that business over the past few months. Amanda was previously Acting Group Executive Direct Insurance Australia. Prior to her appointment into this role in November 2020, she was Executive General Manager Consumer Distribution in IAG’s Australia Division. Leading Consumer Distribution in Australia gave her responsibility for the distribution of brands including NRMA Insurance, CGU Insurance, SGIO and SGIC across multiple distribution channels. Amanda joined IAG from iiNet in 2008 and has more than 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry in both general and health insurance, having held senior roles in these industries as well as telecommunications. As well as finding opportunities to live IAG’s purpose, ‘to make your world a safer place’, Amanda’s personal focus is to create opportunities for herself and others to learn and grow.
Adam Heath (Vice President)
Farmers' Mutual Group (FMG)
Adam joined the Mutual as Chief Executive in December 2021. In his previous role he was the Executive General Manager, Insurance Solutions with Suncorp New Zealand. Adam has a strong background in general and life insurance, banking and telecommunications and has a real connection to and empathy for FMG’s values, the Mutual model and the rural sector. Adam describes FMG as an iconic New Zealand and rural brand with a long and proud history of supporting rural communities, as well as an ambitious growth strategy to improve and support clients and members in an increasingly digitalised world.
John Lyon
Hollard
John is CEO of Ando Insurance Group Limited and represents Hollard on the Insurance Council of New Zealand. Ando is jointly owned by Hollard and the Ando management team, and delivers innovative propositions tailored to the NZ insurance market. John is a past President of ICNZ, and has over 40 years’ experience in the insurance industry in Ireland, the UK, and in NZ since 1991. John was previously CEO at Lumley NZ, and has held a number of senior executive and governance roles in the industry. He is a Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors, and a Senior Associate of ANZIIF.
Dave Morrow
Chubb Insurance NZ
Dave Morrow is Country President of Chubb Insurance in New Zealand. In this role, he has responsibility for the company’s general insurance business in New Zealand, including commercial property and casualty, traditional and specialty personal lines, and accident and health insurance. Dave has more than 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry globally, including 15 years with Chubb in various leadership positions. He joined Chubb (formerly ACE) in 2009 as Property Manager for New Zealand, and during his career at Chubb spent 10 years working across Asia in Thailand, Malaysia and Japan as the Head of Property and Casualty. Prior to his appointment as Country President, Dave most recently held the role of Head of Property and Casualty for Chubb in New Zealand.
Jimmy Higgins
Suncorp New Zealand
Jimmy is the CEO for Suncorp NZ, which includes the Vero, Asteron Life and AA Life brands, and is responsible for the strategy and operational delivery. Jimmy is also a Director of Vero Liability, AA Insurance and AA Finance. Since joining the Suncorp Group in 2008, Jimmy has worked in the general insurance business, delivering customer outcomes across the many Suncorp brands and portfolios. He was instrumental in leading Suncorp’s flood recovery in 2010. He and his family then moved to NZ to set up and manage the NZ Earthquake recovery programme. Jimmy was appointed Chief Financial Officer for Suncorp New Zealand in June 2019, where he was accountable for financial performance and management, statutory and regulatory reporting, strategy, corporate affairs, business transformation and operations. Prior to joining the Suncorp Group, Jimmy was a Detective in the Queensland Police Force and later a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and McGrathNicol.
Simone Labady
Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance
Simone Labady was appointed CEO for Aioi Nissay Dowa Management New Zealand (the NZ subsidiary of Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company) in 2018 and also appointed as a director. With 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, she has led organisations through significant cultural change programs and IT system transformations. Simone is dedicated to enhancing customer experiences while ensuring that the insurance industry provides robust support during customers' times of need. With a background spanning finance, insurance, statistics, and technology in both Australia and New Zealand — along with a reputation for strategic leadership and operational management — Simone is passionate about building and shaping cultures that inspire trust, collaboration, and problem solving.
Michelle James
AA Insurance
Michelle has recently joined AA Insurance and is responsible for building on the customer centric culture and shared vision to earn the trust of every New Zealander by protecting what matters most. Michelle has 20 years’ experience in Executive and Senior Leadership roles on both sides of the Tasman, specialising in transformation and the creation of innovative customer and digital experiences.
Paul Johnston
Tower
With 25 years' experience across multiple industries, particularly in the insurance and financial services sectors, Paul has extensive international, strategic, and operational finance expertise. He most recently held the position of Tower's Chief Financial Officer. Before joining Tower, Paul was based in Tokyo as the Chief Financial Officer and Far East Region Director for Chubb, one of the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance companies. Prior to this, Paul spent almost 16 years in the UK with Chubb, AIG, Nomura Investment Bank and Deloitte. Paul has a proven international track record in executive leadership and increasing profitability across consumer-focused companies.
Jonathan Groves
QBE
Jonathan has over 30 years of experience in the international insurance and reinsurance markets, having worked in the UK and London markets, Bermuda, Australia and more recently New Zealand. Jonathan has held a variety of underwriting, broking and consulting positions and joined QBE in 2013 as Chief Risk Officer of Equator Re. Whilst at QBE, he has subsequently held the roles of Group Head of Risk and Chief Risk Officer for Australia and New Zealand before being appointed CEO and Managing Director of the New Zealand Pacific business. Jonathan has previously worked for Marsh and Aon both in a management capacity and providing risk related consulting services as well as in AIG’s complex client group. Jonathan is passionate about helping solve customer challenges and is a Fellow of the Institute of Risk Management.
Adrian Sweeney
Zurich
Adrian Sweeney is the General Manager of Zurich New Zealand. He has extensive experience working in a range of functions including Insurance, Risk and Digital Transformations as well as across a number of territories including USA, Asia Pacific, the UK and Europe. Adrian has over 40 years of insurance experience, holding Chief Underwriting Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Officer positions. Adrian is passionate about helping the industry and the wider society prepare for, adapt to and build resilience against some of the global challenges we face such as climate change.
