Ex-Clerical chief for Friends global arm

25 August 2011 | By Steve Tolley

Friends Life has appointed former Clerical Medical chief executive John Van Der Wielen as managing director of its international arm.

Van Der Wielen will join at the end of the year, reporting directly to chief executive Andy Briggs, and become part of the group’s executive committee.

He left Clerical Medical in February 2010 after a restructure following the merger of the insurance arms of HBOS and Lloyds. He joins from ANZ Banking Corporation, where he was managing director, wealth, based in Sydney, Australia.

Van Der Wielen will have responsibility for all of the group’s international businesses, including Friends Provident International, fpb AG FPI’s German distribution partner Lombard and AmLife in Malaysia.

Briggs says: “John is a high calibre executive with the key skills and experience to drive the international business forward. He brings with him tremendous knowledge of running international businesses. This will help enable us to meet our financial targets in this area.”

Syndaxi Chartered Financial Planner managing director Robert Reid says: “I expect Van Der Wielen will bring his fresh way of thinking and push for international expansion. He and the chief executive Andy Briggs have worked together before, which is never a bad thing.”

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