The Board of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has appointed IAG Managing Director and CEO Nick Hawkins to the position of President.
QBE Australia Pacific CEO Sue Houghton will complete her term as President at the end of the year and remain on the Board, with Hawkins to commence as President on 1 January 2022.
Hollard Holdings Managing Director Richard Enthoven will continue as Deputy President.
Hawkins became IAG’s Managing Director and CEO in November 2020, having previously held the role of Deputy CEO.
He previously spent 12 years as IAG’s Chief Financial Officer, prior to which he was the CEO of IAG New Zealand.
Hawkins has held a number of roles within finance and asset management since joining IAG in 2001, before which he was a partner with KPMG.
“Insurers have a unique role to play in this country to help reduce the risks many communities and businesses face from extreme weather and natural disasters, and this will be a key focus of the ICA Board as we head into 2022,” Hawkins said.
“Sue has done an outstanding job as President and we’re grateful for her leadership. I look forward to stepping into this important role in the new year.”
Houghton also commented: “Over the past two years insurers and the ICA have had to grapple with many significant issues, including the implementation of the Hayne Royal Commission reforms, the local impacts of a hardening global insurance market, and the business interruption test case process, just to name a few.”
“I’m proud of the way in which the industry, both individually and collectively through the ICA, has responded to these challenges, which has always been constructive and collaborative. I have very much enjoyed my term as President of the ICA Board and know that in Nick I am handing the role on to very experienced hands.”
