- David McMillan will take up a new appointment as director group transformation to manage the implementation of the new strategic plan across the group, reporting to John McFarlane. David was formerly chief executive, UK & Ireland General Insurance. Since this is an important new role, further details are contained in the attached notes to editors.
- Robin Spencer will replace David as chief executive, UK & Ireland General Insurance*, with responsibility for leading Aviva’s largest general insurance business and one of its most profitable business units. Robin will remain a member of the Group Executive reporting to John McFarlane and Trevor Matthews.
- John Lister will replace Robin in a new expanded role as group chief capital and risk officer* combining both functions and eliminating duplication between them. John will join the Group Executive reporting to John McFarlane for Risk and Pat Regan for Capital.
- After 12 years at Aviva as group human resources director, John Ainley has decided that the time is right for him to leave the group. Carole Jones will become acting group HR director* and join the Group Executive reporting to Kirsty Cooper, head of the Office of the Chairman, pending the appointment of a permanent replacement.
New senior management structure
An important recent development has been the elimination of various management committees as we emphasise individual accountability and speed up decision-making and execution.
We consider it important that the senior management of the Company has a single purpose and to this end the senior management will now meet regularly in three groups:
- Office of the Chairman will consist of the most senior group level executives, John McFarlane, Pat Regan, Trevor Matthews, David McMillan and Simon Machell, and will meet weekly.
- Group Executive will consist of the executives above and other members of the senior executive team. It will meet bi-monthly. The additional Group Executive members are:
- David Barral, Robin Spencer, John Lister, Cathryn Riley, Philippe Maso, Amanda Mackenzie, Kirsty Cooper, Maurice Tulloch**, Paul Abberley and Carole Jones.
- Senior Management Group will consist of around 90 of the most senior managers. This group will meet twice a year to reinforce priorities and to develop a high performance culture at the most senior level.
McFarlane, Aviva’s chairman said: 'The search for a new CEO internally and externally is in progress advised by Spencer Stuart. I would expect an appointment to be made at the beginning of the new year, or shortly thereafter.
'In the meantime, it is essential that we have the right people in place to implement the strategic plan and to achieve higher financial strength and performance. I am aware of past concerns regarding the frequency of management changes at Aviva; nevertheless I judge these new appointments to be essential.
'I wish to express special thanks to John Ainley for his significant contribution over his 12 years at Aviva, and wish him well for the future.
'Aviva now has a senior management team which I believe has the right mix of experience and insurance expertise to deliver Aviva’s strategic plan'.
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