OUR PEOPLE

Appointed as an independent Director of AIA Australia in May 2009, Theresa was appointed Chair of the Board in March 2010.

Theresa also became Independent Director and Chair of Sovereign’s Board of Directors in July 2018. She is also a Member of Sovereign’s Board Committees.

Theresa is the co-founder of the very successful start-up My Food Bag. From October 1999 to June 2007, Theresa was the CEO and Managing Director of Telecom New Zealand, where she led the company through world-changing technology developments. 

In 2015 Theresa was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy and was inducted into the TVNZ New Zealand Marketing Hall of Fame. Theresa is involved with a number of not-for-profit and philanthropic interests, including being co-founder and trustee of the World Women Charitable Trust and Patron of the Cambodia Charitable Trust.

Peter is Deputy Chairman of The Myer Family Investments Ltd, Deputy Chair of AIA Australia Limited and a Director of Linfox Australia Pty Ltd.  He is Chairman of the Royal Institution of Australia, the Australian Science Media Centre, the Faculty of Business and Economics at Melbourne University, the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Shared Value Project and the NHMRC Centre for Personalised Immunology at ANU and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at UNSW.

From 2004-2007 Peter was Managing Director of Oceania Capital Partners and held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited from 2001-2004.  Until 2001 he worked in the Investment Banking industry including 15 years with Macquarie Bank.  He holds a Doctorate of the University from Murdoch University, a Masters degree from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Commerce degree from University of Melbourne.  He speaks Japanese, having studied at Keio University in Tokyo.

Until 30 June 2018, Peter was a Director of the Royal Children’s Hospital and has been a Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Asialink, Publishing and Broadcasting, Crown Ltd, Foxtel Ltd, The Nine Network, Ninemsn, Ticketek, Veda Ltd, Oceania Capital Partners Ltd, the National Portrait Gallery, The Melbourne International Arts Festival, Centre for Independent Studies, MOKO.mobi and the Australia-Japan Foundation.

At the June 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Peter was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for service to education, to the financial services industry and to a range of arts, science and charitable organisations and in 2017 was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE).

Independent Non-Executive Director

Sue Dahn was appointed as an independent director of AIA Australia in October 2018, and is the chair of the Board Audit Committee. In addition to her role on the AIA Australia Board, Sue is currently a Partner at Pitcher Partners Melbourne, a director and chair of the investment committee of MTAA Super Fund, and a director of Victorian Traditional Owners Funds Limited. She is also a member of the Victorian Judicial Commission community panel, a Victorian Council Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and an independent investment expert to Trinity College on its Investment Committee.

Sue has previously held non-executive director roles with McMillan Shakespeare Ltd, the Australian Communities Foundation, AGEST Super Fund, Emergency Services and State Super Fund and Shrine of Remembrance. She has held senior financial advisory positions with the Department of Treasury and Finance, Department of Premier and Cabinet as well as with the Department of Industry and the Office of the Auditor-General.

Sue has a Masters of Business Administration and Commerce degree from University of Melbourne, a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment and a Company Directors Diploma. Sue is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Finsia, CPA Australia, the Australian Super Funds Association and the Australian Institute of Super Trustees. She is also a fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and alumni of Leadership Victoria.  

Damien Mu has more than 20 years’ experience in the Australian financial services industry, with management experience spanning operations, claims and underwriting, superannuation, investments, distribution, product, pricing and marketing.

Damien’s career at AIA Australia began in April 2007. Over that time he has held various roles, including Head of Group Insurance, Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer and General Manager - Life Insurance.

On 1 August 2014, Damien was appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer. In 2014 the company launched AIA Vitality, a world leading health and wellness program, to the Australian market. New Zealand was added to his responsibilities in July 2016 and in July 2017 AIA and its partners launched myOwn Health, a new health insurance business. In September 2017, AIA announced the acquisition of the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited and a strategic bancassurance arrangement with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, subject to regulatory approvals. In July 2018, AIA completed its acquisition of Sovereign Assurance Company Limited (now AIA New Zealand), and entered into a strategic bancassurance arrangement with ASB Bank, in New Zealand.

Damien is a director of AIA New Zealand, MO Health Pty Ltd, the Financial Services Council (FSC), Co-Chair of the Life Board Committee and Advisory Board member of the Shared Value Project.

Bill Lisle is the Regional Chief Executive responsible for AIA Group’s businesses operating in Thailand, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka as well as Group Partnership Distribution.

Bill was Chief Executive Officer of AIA’s operation in Malaysia from December 2012 to May 2015 including leading the large-scale and successful integration of ING Malaysia after its acquisition by AIA Group in 2012. He is a director of various companies within AIA Group including AIA Company Limited, AIA Australia Limited and Sovereign Assurance Company Limited. He is also a director of Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between AIA Group and Tata Sons Limited in India. Bill joined AIA Group in January 2011 as Group Chief Distribution Officer.

Prior to joining AIA Group, Bill was the Managing Director, South Asia for Aviva from May 2009 until 2010. Prior to joining Aviva, Bill held a number of senior positions at Prudential Corporation Asia Limited, including Chief Executive Officer in Malaysia from 2008 to 2009, Chief Executive Officer in Korea from 2005 to 2008, Chief Agency Officer for ICICI Prudential from 2002 to 2004 and Director of Agency Development, South Asia in 2001.

Mark is a member of the Group Executive of AIA Group Ltd and Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer responsible for strategy and corporate transactions for the Group. He also is responsible for the Group’s Corporate Solutions and Healthcare businesses. Joining AIA in April 2014, he is a director of various companies within the Group and has also served as Group Chief Marketing Officer bringing together Strategy and Marketing centred around Customer Propositions. He is a passionate promoter of the good of insurance for societies and economies and an ardent advocate of Creating Shared Value treating social problems as business objectives.

Prior to joining AIA, Mark was Managing Director of Towers Watson for the Asia-Pacific Insurance Sector, as well as Managing Director for the firm’s Hong Kong office and Board member of various entities. Prior to joining Towers Watson, he was Asian Regional Leader, Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Director and Board Member of the Isle of Man-based international life insurance operations of Clerical Medical and its joint venture life insurer in Korea (Coryo-CM).

Mark has been involved in the life insurance industry in Asia since 1989. He is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and Fellow of five other professional actuarial bodies.