TAL’s current EGM of technology Hinesh Chauhan has been appointed the firm’s next chief information officer (CIO) as part of an executive reshuffle at Australia’s biggest life insurer.
Chauhan replaces Fiona Macgregor, who has served as TAL’s chief information and innovation officer over the last five years.
Macgregor will step into the chief executive – individual life role being vacated by Tim Thorne.
According to TAL, Thorne will retire from executive roles to pursue a non-executive portfolio.
Joining TAL back in 2018 as GM for technology delivery, Chauhan was recognised by the life insurer for his “significant contribution to strengthening TAL’s technology function, and digital culture and capabilities”.
“Chauhan remains focused on working with TAL’s technology partners to support business operations, meet rising information and cyber security expectations, and to enhance the way TAL supports its customers and partners through both existing and new technologies, such as generative AI.”
Commenting on his promotion, Chauhan said he will maintain his team’s commitment to TAL’s partnership-centred technology agenda, as well as redouble their focus on cybersecurity and customer experience innovation.
“TAL is a partnership business. For my team, this means delivering on the digital ambitions [of] our partners and meeting their expectations of us as a digital insurance partner,” Chauhan said.
“I am looking forward to leading a great team, together we will leverage digital, data, design and experience to scale new ideas, strike new digitally enabled partnerships and continue the development and adoption of our market-leading propositions.
“It also means addressing rising cybersecurity concerns, with continued investment in digital trust at the heart of this strategy.”
Chauhan added: “We see a real opportunity to embrace technological solutions to improve customer experience and outcomes, from making the underwriting experience more seamless to more straight-through processing across our business, employing personalisation at scale, and improving the customer experience at claim time, when they need us most.”
Prior to joining TAL, Chauhan was part of the Macquarie Group for 17 years serving in various technology roles.
Macgregor, TAL’s most recent tech chief, was recognised for her role in the firm’s tech strategy formulation and delivery, as well as in supporting the acquisition and integration of Asteron Life and Westpac Life.
Macgregor joined TAL in 2014 as general manager of innovation development before her appointment a year later as chief customer and innovation officer, where she served for nearly three and a half years.
TAL has also announced the appointment of Jenny Oliver as chief executive – group life & retirement, moving from her current role as TAL’s chief claims officer (CCO).
The insurer said it is currently recruiting to fill the vacant CCO role, with Oliver to maintain executive oversight for the claims function in the interim.
As part of her new role, Oliver will be responsible for leading TAL’s partnerships with the superannuation community.
Updated 12/10 with additional responses from Hinesh Chauhan.
