ABI picks Australian lawyer for top job
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The Association of British Insurers has appointed Kerrie Kelly to replace Stephen Haddrill as director general.
Kelly is executive director and CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia. She will take up the role in February 2010 after moving to the UK with her husband.
Kelly has led the Insurance Council of Australia since 2006 and was previously CEO of the Financial Planning Association in Australia. She trained as a lawyer and barrister.
She holds several non-executive directorships in Australia, including HSBC Bank Australia, the Financial Literacy Advisory Board, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Finance Industry Council of Australia.
ABI chairman Archie Kane says: “Kerrie is a proven and energetic leader whose success across the commercial, legal and public sectors will ensure the ABI has a strong and powerful voice at its helm at a crucial time for the insurance industry. She brings a strong network of international contacts which will prove particularly valuable as we navigate major areas of global regulation and supervision.
“I would like to thank Stephen Haddrill for his very significant contribution to the ABI over the last four and a half years and wish him well in his role at the Financial Reporting Council.”
Kelly says: “Stephen Haddrill has been a highly effective leader and ensured that the ABI has punched its weight. I am determined to do the same and am delighted to lead the ABI forward at such a crucial time for the insurance industry.”
Standard Life senior pensions policy manager Andrew Tully says: “Kerrie seems to have a lot of valuable experience in public and private sectors in Australia. With experience of Australia’s established and vibrant pension market, I am sure she will bring a fresh perspective and some interesting ideas to the ABI role.”
Lansons director of public affairs Ralph Jackson says: “With Angela Knight and Kerrie Kelly, we have now got women heading two of the leading trade bodies and, in terms of diversity, that is a good thing. It probably was a surprise but it just shows that the global search works. It has broken the trend of bringing ex-civil servants into the role.”
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