Our People

Theresa was appointed as an Independent Director and Chair of the Board of Directors in July 2018, when AIA Group completed its acquisition of Sovereign Assurance Company Limited (Sovereign). She is also a Member of AIA New Zealand Limited ("AIA New Zealand")'s board committees.

In May 2009 she was appointed as an independent Director of AIA Australia. In March 2010 Theresa was appointed Chair of the AIA Australia Board.

Theresa is the co-founder of the very successful start-up My Food Bag. From October 1999 to June 2007, Theresa was the CEO and Managing Director of Telecom New Zealand, where she led the company through world-changing technology developments.

In 2015 Theresa was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy and was inducted into the TVNZ New Zealand Marketing Hall of Fame. Theresa is involved with a number of not-for-profit and philanthropic interests, including being co-founder and trustee of the World Women Charitable Trust and Patron of the Cambodia Charitable Trust.

Damien Mu has more than 20 years’ experience in the Australian financial services industry, with management experience spanning operations, claims and underwriting, superannuation, investments, distribution, product, pricing and marketing.

Damien’s career at AIA Australia began in April 2007. Over that time he has held various roles as Head of Group Insurance, Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer and the role of General Manager - Life Insurance. In this time, the company achieved significant, positive growth across all three channels of the business and was the recipient of a number of major Life Insurance awards.

On 1 August 2014, Damien was appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer, a reflection of his instrumental part in driving AIA Australia’s growth and sustained success in the Australian market. In July 2016, AIA New Zealand was added to his responsibilities to further the company’s growth plans, leverage scale opportunities and drive greater efficiencies. Damien is also a director of the Financial Services Council (FSC), Co-Chair of the Life Board Committee and Advisory Board member of the Shared Value Project. In June 2017, Damien was appointed a Board Member of MO Health Pty Ltd.

Bill Lisle is the Regional Chief Executive responsible for AIA Group’s businesses operating in Thailand, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka as well as Group Partnership Distribution.

Bill was Chief Executive Officer of AIA’s operation in Malaysia from December 2012 to May 2015 including leading the large-scale and successful integration of ING Malaysia after its acquisition by AIA Group in 2012. He is a director of various companies within AIA Group including AIA Company Limited, AIA Australia Limited and AIA New Zealand Limited. He is also a director of Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between AIA Group and Tata Sons Limited in India. Bill joined the AIA Group in January 2011 as Group Chief Distribution Officer.

Prior to joining the AIA Group, Bill was the Managing Director, South Asia for Aviva from May 2009 until 2010. Prior to joining Aviva, Bill held a number of senior positions at Prudential Corporation Asia Limited, including Chief Executive Officer in Malaysia from 2008 to 2009, Chief Executive Officer in Korea from 2005 to 2008, Chief Agency Officer for ICICI Prudential from 2002 to 2004 and Director of Agency Development, South Asia in 2001.

As CEO New Zealand, Nick is proud to lead a passionate team of 900 people with the goal of making New Zealand one of the healthiest and most protected nations in the world.

With 28 years of experience in the financial services sector, Nick has held a diverse range of senior leadership roles in New Zealand. Prior to this, Nick was the Executive General Manager of Wealth & Insurance at ASB Bank Limited. He has held a variety of key leadership roles within ASB including General Manager Corporate Banking and Working Capital Services, General Manager Business Banking and General Manager of Business Banking and Retail Specialist Services.

Nick has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and is a Board Member of the Financial Services Council of New Zealand. Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Nick is married with two daughters. Outside of work, he enjoys keeping active, is a keen cyclist and gym goer and has competed in triathlons and Ironman events.

Rob’s finance career spans over 30 years and he is an experienced and market respected Chief Financial Officer. His most recent executive role was as the Chief Financial Officer for Air New Zealand, a position he held for 13 years.

He has extensive governance experience in industry and professional bodies. Rob is an Independent Director on AIA New Zealand's Board and Board Committees. He is currently also a Director of Contact Energy Limited (Chairman from 1 September 2018), and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Also in September he will join the Board of Fletcher Building Limited, as a Director.

Rob has a Bachelor of Commerce from Auckland University and in 1999 completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a member of the Institute of Financial Professionals New Zealand.

As well as being a Director of the Board of AIA New Zealand, Elizabeth Flynn has been an Independent Director of AIA Australia since 2011. She is also a member of AIA Australia’s Board Audit, Risk & Compliance Committees, and in August 2018 was also appointed Chair of the Board Remuneration Committee. In addition to her role on the AIA Australia Board, Elizabeth is currently a non-executive Director of IOOF Holdings Limited and several IOOF subsidiaries and chair of IOOF’s Risk & Compliance Committee and a Victorian Government appointed member of the Emergency Services Superannuation Board and chair of its Governance, Risk & Compliance Committee. Elizabeth is also the Company Secretary of Save the Children Australia.

Elizabeth held several roles at Aviva Australia during the period 1998 - 2010, including Chief Legal Counsel, Group Company Secretary and Group Compliance Manager. She was appointed to the company’s Executive Team in 2004.

Prior to joining Aviva Australia, Elizabeth spent 18 years at Minter Ellison, one of the largest law firms in Australia, where she practiced as a commercial lawyer with special expertise in the areas of superannuation, securitisation and collective investments.

Elizabeth is a fellow of the AICD, FINSIA, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators and the Governance Institute of Australia.

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