In his first announcement as Zurich’s new Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Fogarty has appointed Bobby Lehane as the company’s Executive General Manager of SME.
Lehane will move on from his current role as Chief Operating Officer, General Insurance – Asia Pacific, on July 30 to replace Shaun Freely who is leaving to take a career break. Lehane’s successor as COO is yet to be announced.
Lehane says the move provides an opportunity to engage in a more market facing role. “Starting on the IT side and delivering a lot of the platforms that grew our businesses, it’s nice to be on the market facing side of it now. The IT background will also help as I understand how good business outcomes can be enabled, what’s achievable, what’s practical and what isn’t,” Lehane told FST Media.
He says it was too early to determine what changes, if any, he will be making to his team’s go-to-market approach. His initial focus will be simply getting his feet under the desk. “It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up. I’ve always looked for new challenges and fortunately Zurich is the kind of organisation that is happy to work with people in providing ever increasing and diverse challenges,” says Lehane.
Fogarty said of the appointment: “Bobby is a proven executive with a strong record of building high performance teams and delivering results. He is experienced in leading large operational groups and he is the ideal person to take us to the next level in our SME business."
Lehane has been with Zurich for five years. He joined the company as its Australian CIO in November 2007, before being promoted to the broader Asia Pacific CIO role in 2009. At the start of 2011 he was appointed COO of Zurich’s General Insurance business in Asia Pacific.
Related Links:
