Our Board
Tō Mātou Poari
Amanda Whiting (President)
IAG New Zealand
Amanda Whiting was appointed Chief Executive Officer of IAG New Zealand and an Executive Director of IAG New Zealand Limited and IAG (NZ) Holdings Limited on 1 July 2021. She is also a Director of AMI Insurance Limited, and Lumley General Insurance (N.Z.) Limited. Amanda has more than 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry having held senior positions in both general and health insurance, as well as in telecommunications. Immediately prior to joining the New Zealand business, Amanda was Acting Group Executive Direct Insurance Australia and before that, Executive General Manager Consumer Distribution in IAG’s Australia Division with responsibility for the distribution of brands including NRMA Insurance, CGU Insurance, SGIO and SGIC across multiple distribution channels. As well as her directorships, Amanda was appointed to the position of Vice President of Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) in April 2023 and succeeded as President of ICNZ on 8 January 2024. She was re-elected President of ICNZ in March 2025. Amanda is also a member of the Climate Leaders Coalition Steering Committee, Global Women and Champions for Change in New Zealand, and Chief Executive Women in Australia. She is committed to living the IAG purpose of making “your world a safer place”.
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 of Suncorp New Zealand, where he leads with vision and expertise in the financial sector. Jimmy is also a Director of Vero Liability and AA Insurance. Jimmy joined the Suncorp Group in 2008, following 20 years in the professional services and law enforcement sectors in Australia. He brings strategic leadership to the insurance sector focusing on improving customer outcomes, sustainability, disaster recovery and risk management. Prior to becoming CEO, he held executive roles at Suncorp New Zealand, including Executive General Manager Claims and was the Chief Financial Officer during the COVID pandemic. At Suncorp New Zealand he continues to spearhead the transformational change initiatives within Suncorp New Zealand, driving agility and innovation throughout the organisation. He has also taken a leading role in providing advice to government and relevant authorities on the future of insurance, driving an advocacy agenda for improving the resilience and protection of communities from natural hazards. In 2024 and into 2025, Jimmy served on the Ministry for the Environment’s Independent Reference Group on Climate Adaptation, where he championed transparent climate risk data and supported the development of a 20-year transition to help communities, insurers, and government respond to increasing natural hazard risks.
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
Paul has 25 years' experience across multiple industries, particularly in the insurance and financial services sectors, spanning the UK and Asia. He most recently held the position of Tower's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Tower. Prior to this, Paul was the CFO and Far East Region Director for Chubb, one of the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance 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.
