nib appoints new board members
Australian travel and health insurer nib has appointed Peter Harmer as an independent non-executive Director of the nib Board while Chairman Steve Crane retires
Harmer has over 40 years of experience in the Australian and international insurance and financial sectors, including over 30 years in a senior executive capacity. He was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Insurance Australia Group, CGU Insurance, Aon Limited UK, Aon Risk Services Australia Pacific, and Aon Re Australia. Harmer was also Chairman of Aon Re Australia and the London Market Reform Group and is currently a non-executive Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
nib Chairman, Steve Crane, said Mr Harmer’s appointment will ensure the Board continues to reflect the right mix of skills and experience to build further on nib’s success. “We’re thrilled to welcome Peter to our Board. He brings enormous experience as both a company director and executive. He also has an impressive track record in leading organisations through digital transformations, a big priority in the company today,” Crane said.
Harmer will serve on the nib Board as an additional Director from 20 July and will stand for election at the 2021 Annual General Meeting in November.
Chairman retires
Meanwhile, nib also announced Crane’s retirement as nib’s non-executive Director and Chairman, who will step down from the Board on 29 July. Mr Crane joined the nib Board as Director in 2010 and has been serving as Chairman since 2011. Crane said that after more than a decade of growth and progress on many fronts, he felt the time was right to retire from the nib Board.
“I joined the Board not long after nib demutualised and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and have enjoyed immensely the nib journey,” Crane said. “I’ve been privileged to lead a high-quality Board of Directors which has overseen incredible progress across the company and I’ve no doubt there’s so much more to come.”
Crane will be succeeded in his role as nib Chairman by current independent non-executive Director, David Gordon. Gordon joined the Board as a Director in 2020. He has over 20 years’ experience as a director of both public and private companies and has extensive experience in the corporate advisory and financial services sector.
He is currently Chair of Accent Group Limited and Founding Principal of Lexicon Partners. He was previously a Director and Chair of Ten Network Holdings and held senior roles at Herbert Smith Freehills and boutique investment bank, Wentworth Associates.
Gordon said that he is honoured and excited to assume the role and would like to thank Mr Crane for his extraordinary contribution to the company for over 10 years.” Steve has been instrumental in nib’s growth over the last decade and more recently has shown great leadership and capability in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring our member, shareholder, employee and business’ needs continue to be met.”
Earlier this year, nib announced a Group Underlying Operating Profit of AU$86.9 million and Net Profit After Tax of $66.2 million for the six months to 31 December 2020, despite the pandemic.