Another CEO Search Begins As Doyle Leaves Zurich: Lifebroker

Lifebroker has noted that Zurich Financial Services Australia has announced that Shane Doyle, who has served the company as Chief Executive Officer, General Insurance Australia, will leave the company by 30 September 2012.

Doyle has held his present post since March 2011. His predecessor, David Smith, had been CEO for almost five years, the longest tenure of any of the five CEOs who have held the position at Zurich over the last 10 years. Doyle replaced Smith when the company restructured and separated its life and investments line and its general insurance line.

Pending regulatory approval, Doyle will join the Dual Group, a part of the Hyperion Insurance Group specializing in mid-market clients. He will assume the role of Deputy CEO, reporting to Dual CEO Damien Coates. Coates left AIG to join Dual in 2003 and founded Dual Australia a year later. Since then, he has expanded the business in Australia, New Zealand and China.

Doyle had also been at AIG, serving in a variety of capacities and in several locations since 2001. His postings included Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2008, he became a Senior Vice President of AIG, leaving that position when he joined Zurich in 2010. At Zurich, he began as General Manager General Insurance and held that position until he was named CEO.

According to Dual, "Doyle will support Coates in the delivery of the Group's new initiatives and expansion as Dual continues to develop its product and geographic reach."

Doyle had nothing but praise for his experience with Zurich and for the company itself. "I leave behind a talented leadership team, a sound and globally aligned general insurance strategy and a business structured to deliver more effectively to the specific needs of our Corporate/Mid Market and SME segments," he said. "My time at Zurich has been some of the most rewarding of my career."

The appointment of someone with significant experience in international markets seems to underscore Dual's role in Hyperion's plans for international growth. Hyperion CEO David Howden said, "It is excellent for the Group that we have been able to attract someone of such calibre, with significant experience with two major global insurers, AIG and Zurich. I have also known Shane for many years, and I have no doubt that, as well as his significant underwriting and management experience, he will bring additional energy to our growth plans."

The high rate of CEO turnover at Zurich is well known in the industry, but the company downplayed any potential disruption that might result from this transition. "It's business as usual and the search for a successor has begun," a company spokesman said.

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