AIA Bhd. Strengthens Its People, Marketing and Technology Capabilities with Three Key Appointments 

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 March 2017 – AIA Bhd. has made three key appointments to its Executive Committee to further strengthen its Technology, Marketing and Human Resources divisions. On 1 March 2017, the life insurer announced that it had appointed Thomas Wong as its Chief Human Resources Officer, Eric Chang as Chief Marketing Officer, while Sandeep Pandey was named Chief Technology Officer.    

Commenting on the appointments, Anusha Thavarajah, CEO of AIA Bhd., said, “We are excited to have Thomas, Eric and Sandeep step into their new roles. Each of them has established a track record of success and have been pivotal in driving AIA’s business forward. Their appointments highlight the immense leadership opportunities that have materialised as a result of AIA’s consistently strong business growth in recent years. We are proud to have identified capable and dedicated leaders internally, pointing to our commitment to develop talent from within AIA.” 

Thomas will play a key role in developing and driving AIA Malaysia’s leadership strategy, ensuring there is a strong talent pipeline and the required critical capabilities across the organisation to meet the future needs of the business. He is also tasked with ensuring that AIA’s values are embedded and continue to resonate with AIA Bhd.’s 2000-strong workforce, measures which will help to advance the Company’s ambition to be a leading employer of choice in Malaysia.  

Thomas, who has more than 20 years of sales, marketing and general management experience, joined AIA in November 2012 as its Chief Marketing Officer. Under his leadership, AIA continuously registered high brand health ratings and brought to market industry-leading product solutions catered to new customer segments, earning AIA numerous industry awards and accolades. 

Eric, who joined AIA in March 2013 as Head of Brand and Digital, has risen to the role of Chief Marketing Officer. He has been instrumental in AIA’s efforts to build and promote the brand and its values among key stakeholders and the community. He led the delivery of successful campaigns namely The Health Report Card Project by AIA and I Choose as part of the larger AIA Vitality rollout in Malaysia last year. On the digital side, Eric spearheaded AIA Malaysia’s digital transformation which resulted in the launch of the Company’s new and improved website and customer portal.

In his new role, Eric will focus on ramping up the expansion and distribution of AIA Vitality, while continuing to reinforce AIA’s position as an active health advocate in Malaysia. Over the past two years, AIA has taken a sharper focus on health, evidenced by the June 2016 launch of AIA Vitality – an insurance and health programme that rewards AIA customers for making healthy choices. 

Sandeep, previously Director and Head of IT Transformation in AIA Hong Kong, will play a critical role in driving AIA Malaysia’s technology strategy to ensure it aligns with and supports the company’s key goals and priorities. He will focus on fostering an IT environment that will drive and facilitate the use of proactive and leading edge technology as well as integrated data analytics and intelligence platforms to sustain AIA Malaysia’s strong business growth. He will also play a key role in formulating and supporting AIA’s digital transformation strategies and goals.

Sandeep, who joined AIA Shared Services in August 2009 as Head of Information Technology, Business Continuity Processes and Data Privacy, has held various key leadership positions within AIA Group, namely in Tata AIA, Group Office, Shared Services Malaysia, and AIA Vitality in Hong Kong. 

About AIA Bhd.

AIA Bhd. is a leading insurer in Malaysia, where we have been privileged to do business since 1948. We offer a suite of financial solutions including Protection, Health, Personal Accident, Employee Benefits, General Insurance, Mortgage, Retirement and Family Takaful products to meet our customers’ protection and financial security needs at every life stage. Through our wide and diverse distribution footprint which comprises a 13,500 strong Life Planner force, our exclusive bank partner’s branches nationwide as well as corporate sales teams and brokers, we give our customers the choice of deciding how, when and where they connect with us.

Part of the AIA Group, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group, AIA Bhd. has the financial strength, experience, service centre network and a well-trained team of more than 2,000 staff to serve our 3 million customers nationwide.  

As at 31 May 2016, AIA Bhd.’s total asset worth was RM48 billion, with a paid-up capital of RM767 million.

About AIA 

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, Cambodia, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 per cent joint venture in India and a representative office in Myanmar.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai almost a century ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$185 billion as of 30 November 2016. 

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 30 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).

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