TAL’s former information and innovation chief Fiona Macgregor will take over as head of Australia’s biggest life insurer from early October.

Macgregor will replace current TAL chief executive and managing director Brett Clark, who next month joins TAL’s parent company Dai-ichi Life Group as CEO and managing director of its Asia-Pacific arm.

While Clark’s role change takes effect from 1 July, the pair will work together over the next three months to smooth out the leadership transition, with Macgregor continuing in her current role.

Macgregor, who joined TAL back in 2014 from Scottish banking giant The Royal Bank of Scotland, was recognised by the life giant for her broad-scale expertise and experience across innovation, customer, partnerships, brand and technology.

After her five-year stint as TAL’s chief information and innovation officer between 2018-2023, Macgregor was appointed to oversee the life insurer’s retail and direct-to-consumer businesses as chief executive of individual life in October 2023.

As the firm’s newly appointed CEO and MD, Macgregor will tasked with delivering a “digitally enabled market-leading customer and partner experience”, TAL said.

TAL chair Mark Joiner recognised Macgregor as “an impressive leader… with a strong track record of leadership in the business [which] has helped to grow and shape TAL”.

“Fiona knows our business well and has a deep appreciation for the needs and expectations of our customers and partners in the evolving life insurance and retirement income markets.

“The board has been carefully preparing for CEO succession and we are confident Fiona is the right person to lead TAL into the future.”