Mrs Mentis brings 37 years of financial services experience to the TAL Board, including as Managing Director and CEO of Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), Group Executive Business Banking and Chief Digital, Data and Analytics Officer at National Australia Bank (NAB), and senior roles at Westpac, BT Financial Group and Citibank.

Mr Kai brings to the TAL Board extensive experience in corporate strategy and business development across Japanese and global financial institutions. He currently serves as a Director of Daiichi Life Group, Inc (Daiichi Life Group), where he has been responsible for corporate planning, organisational restructuring, and the development and execution of growth strategies in Japan and overseas.

TAL Chair David Cohen said, “We are delighted to welcome both Angela and Akifumi to the TAL Board. Angela brings deep expertise across digital strategy and customer transformation, and a proven track record of leading large, complex organisations with purpose and performance. Akifumi brings valuable perspective from Daiichi Life Group, along with a strong background in corporate strategy and international business development. Together, their complementary experience will be a tremendous asset to TAL as we continue to grow and evolve the way we serve Australians, their families and communities.”

“At the same time, I want to extend our thanks to Christine Bartlett for her outstanding contribution to the TAL Board. Christine has brought dedication, insight and wisdom during her tenure. Christine’s counsel has been a valuable part of shaping TAL’s strategic direction. We wish her all the very best.”

TAL Group CEO and Managing Director Fiona Macgregor said, “We welcome Angela’s and Akifumi’s appointments to the TAL Board. Angela’s expertise in customer experience, organisational culture, and business performance, combined with her strong background in digital and data strategy, aligns exceptionally well with our priorities.”

“Akifumi’s deep knowledge of Daiichi Life’s strategy and his international financial services experience will further strengthen the connection between TAL and Daiichi Life. We very much look forward to the perspective and counsel both Angela and Akifumi will bring.”

Mrs Mentis said, “I am honoured to join the TAL Board at such an exciting time for the business and for the life insurance industry more broadly. TAL’s commitment to protecting Australians and supporting them and their families when it matters most deeply resonates with me. I have spent my career focused on customers and communities, and I look forward to contributing to TAL’s next chapter.”

Mr Kai said, “I am pleased to join the TAL Board and look forward to contributing to TAL’s continued growth and success. TAL plays a vital role in protecting Australians and their families, and I look forward to supporting the business as it continues to evolve.”

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Scott Hartley

MLC, the largest brand of Insignia Financial, has partnered with TAL and Challenger to develop a Centre of Excellence for MLC Retirement Boost, a new innovative retirement income solution.

The Centre of Excellence will have distribution specialists, digital advice member journeys and modelling tools including a new ‘Retirement Boost Optimiser’ tool to help clients visualise their total retirement income across super, retirement and the age pension. The partnership will see Challenger, as the largest retirement-focused distribution team in market, deliver the retirement expertise and distribution capability needed to bring MLC Retirement Boost to market scale.

MLC Retirement Boost will help provide greater certainty and confidence in retirement. It operates like a standard superannuation account but has the potential to allow Australians to boost income during retirement due to the concessional treatment of innovative lifetime income streams. MLC Retirement Boost will be available on MLC Expand platform for advisers to use with their superannuation clients from August 2025.

Insignia Financial’s CEO Scott Hartley said: “With more than three million Australians retiring over the next decade, MLC wants to redefine what retirement means for Australians and superannuation’s role in it.

“How Australians are thinking about, planning for, and entering retirement has changed. Until now the super industry has treated the accumulation and decumulation phases entirely separately, and we don’t think that accurately reflects how most people view retirement.

“Gone are the days of people fully stopping work and withdrawing their super as a lump sum. Australians are choosing to work for longer, scaling back their hours or even changing careers later in life. They are travelling more, helping care for grandkids and enjoying their retirement journey in more individual ways.

“MLC Retirement Boost will give Australians more personalisation and flexibility in their retirement planning, increase the potential of super for more people and potentially create higher retirement income, from their first super contribution.

“Recognising the critical role financial advisers play in retirement planning and delivering high quality retirement advice, MLC Retirement Boost will be available for advisers to use with their superannuation clients from August 2025 on MLC Expand.

“This innovative partnership combines the expertise of MLC, as one of the oldest and largest pension payers in Australia, with TAL as a leading life insurer and Challenger as the largest annuity provider.

“This is just the first step in MLC’s offering in this space, and I’m excited for what’s to come over the next 12-18 months as we continue to enhance MLC Retirement Boost to provide advisers with more options and flexibility to deliver personalised retirement income strategies to their clients.”

TAL’s Group CEO and Managing Director Fiona Macgregor said: “We’re excited to extend our partnership with MLC to design and develop an innovative retirement solution for MLC Expand platform clients. This partnership reflects our commitment to supporting Australians through every life stage.

“As millions of Australians prepare for life after work, TAL is proud to partner on solutions that deliver better outcomes for retirees.

Together, we’re focused on making retirement more secure and easier to navigate.”

Challenger’s CEO and Managing Director Nick Hamilton said: “Challenger is delighted to partner with MLC to support their customers and offer an innovative retirement solution for advisers and their clients.

“This is a pivotal moment in Australia, as retirement income moves from the sidelines into the mainstream. Backed by 40 years’ experience in retirement innovation, investment management and distribution, we’re proud to help lead this shift – through partnerships like this – that will enable more Australians to have financial security in retirement.

“Our deep experience in retirement income means Challenger is uniquely positioned to help MLC scale faster and support more Australians to build stronger, more confident retirement strategies.”

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TAL recognises the evolving needs of Australia’s ageing population and a shareholding in Challenger adds to TAL’s long-term commitment to the growing retirement sector.

TAL’s CEO, Fiona Macgregor, said: “There is an important community need to address with five million Australians currently in or preparing for retirement. Our minority investment in Challenger is an extension of our commitment to supporting Australians’ financial needs during retirement.

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Australian life insurer TAL has announced the appointment of experienced financial services executives and directors David Cohen and Annette King to the company’s Board.

Mr Cohen will join the Board on 1 April 2025, assuming the role of Chair from 8 May, replacing Mark Joiner, who stood down from the position in late 2024. Ms King joined the Board as Independent Non-Executive Director in December 2024.

Mr Cohen spent 16 years at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, latterly as Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Prior to CBA, he was General Counsel at AMP and a partner at a national law firm.

“I’m delighted to be joining the TAL Board and working with CEO Fiona Macgregor and the executive team. TAL is a great Australian business and I look forward to helping guide its future, for the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Mr Cohen.

Ms King is a former life insurance CEO and past President of the Actuaries Institute in Australia, with extensive experience as a Non-Executive Director.

“Life insurance plays a crucial role in protecting the financial security of Australians. I look forward to contributing to this next phase of TAL’s journey and its focus on customer leadership,” said Ms King.

Interim Board Chair Christine Bartlett welcomed the appointments, saying, “David and Annette both bring significant contemporary experience in transformation and growth to the TAL Board.

“As our new Chair, we welcome David’s strong emphasis on customer, culture and risk.

“On behalf of the TAL Board and executive team, I thank Mark Joiner for his leadership of the Board since June 2022 through a period of significant growth and change.”

About David Cohen

David has over 21 years’ experience in financial services and was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) from November 2018 to December 2023. As Deputy CEO, David oversaw business divestments, supervised mergers and acquisitions, and progressed customer complaint resolution and remediation.

Prior to this role, David was Group General Counsel, Group Executive Human Resources, Group Executive Corporate Affairs and Chief Risk Officer at CBA. David’s roles prior to joining CBA include General Counsel at AMP and a Partner at Allens Arthur Robinson.

David was recently appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director of Westpac and is a Panel Member at independent corporate advisory firm Adara Partners.

David holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney.

About Annette King

Annette is an actuary with over 30 years’ experience as a company director, CEO, CFO and CMO of significant financial institutions in Australia and Asia-Pacific, including Swiss Re, AXA, Manulife and Mercer.

Annette has deep experience in insurance, wealth management, superannuation, investments and broader financial services – particularly growing and transforming businesses through differentiated client/member experience, organisational culture, and innovation via data, digital and technology enablement.

Previously, Annette was a Non-Executive Director of MLC Super, a past President and Chair of the Actuaries Institute in Australia and also served as President and Chair of the Life Insurance Association of Singapore. She is a member of Chief Executive Women.

Annette is currently an independent Non-Executive Director of HCF, Australian Finance Group and U Ethical Investors. 

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MLC Life Insurance CEO and Managing Director Kent Griffin has been appointed Co-Chair and will share the role with his AIA Australia counterpart Damien Mu.

Kent has more than 30 years’ corporate and consulting experience in financial services, both in Australia and internationally.

“Kent is well known in our industry as an accomplished and respected leader. He’s a wonderful fit for our Board and we’re thrilled with this appointment,” said CALI CEO Christine Cupitt.

“MLC Life Insurance has strongly supported CALI since it was first established and I’m proud to be so closely involved with its progress as it continues to go from strength to strength” said Mr Griffin.

“It’s a pivotal time for our industry and CALI’s an essential part of driving better outcomes for the millions of people Australia’s life insurers serve every day,” he said.

Kent fills the position held by Brett Clark who has been appointed as CEO for Asia Pacific with TAL’s parent company, Dai-ichi Life, after almost a decade as TAL Group CEO and Managing Director.

“Brett has played a fundamental role in establishing CALI and ensuring its success as the leading and trusted voice of life insurance in Australia. We thank him for his invaluable contribution, expertise and guidance,” said Ms Cupitt.

Mr Clark said: “It has been a privilege to have played a role in the establishment of CALI and see its early work benefit customers and the community. I congratulate Kent on his appointment and wish him, Damien and the entire Board and CALI team well in the future.”

Three new Board Directors have also been appointed, including:

• TAL Group CEO and Managing Director Fiona Macgregor
• Munich Re Australasia Life CEO Nicolas Carro
• Challenger Chief Executive of Life and Solutions Anton Kapel.

“We look forward to working with these impressive industry leaders to ensure that Australians of all walks of life view our industry as accessible, understandable and trusted,” she said.

Pacific Life Re Managing Director of Protection, Asia Pacific and Global Strategy Tyson Johnston has also retired from his role on the CALI Board after two years.

“Tyson has been the consistent voice of reinsurers across our membership, and we thank him for his valuable contributions and his service, which came at such an important time for our organisation.”

The new additions to the CALI Board take the total number of Directors to ten.

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Gavin Teichner

Australian life insurer TAL has appointed Gavin Teichner to the role of Chief Executive – Individual Life, commencing 1 October 2024.

The appointment follows the promotion announced last month of current Chief Executive – Individual Life Fiona Macgregor to the role of Group CEO and Managing Director, commencing 1 October 2024.

Since joining TAL in 2009 Mr Teichner has held a number of senior leadership roles. Since 2018, in his current role as Executive General Manager – Individual Life, he has had a broad remit across product development and management, underwriting, pricing and data analytics.

Fiona Macgregor said, “Gavin has an enormous breadth and depth of expertise across our Direct-to-consumer and Retail businesses. He is a forward-thinking leader, with a strong focus on product sustainability and ensuring TAL is a great choice for more Australians.”

Mr Teichner said, “I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead a team of people focused on delivering high-quality and industry-leading products and services to our customers, financial advisers and corporate partners.”

Mr Teichner is an Actuary and has an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

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The appointment follows the promotion of TAL’s current Group CEO and Managing Director Brett Clark to the role of CEO and Managing Director of Asia-Pacific for Dai-ichi Life Group, TAL’s parent company, from 1 July 2024.

Leveraging her broad expertise across innovation, customer, partnerships, brand and technology, Fiona will be responsible for leading TAL through its ongoing strategy in the life insurance and retirement markets with a focus on digitally enabled market-leading customer and partner experience.

TAL Board Chair Mark Joiner said “Fiona Macgregor is an impressive leader with more than ten years in senior leadership roles at TAL. She has a strong track record of leadership in the business and has helped to grow and shape TAL.

“Fiona knows our business well and has a deep appreciation for the needs and expectations of our customers and partners in the evolving life insurance and retirement income markets. The Board has been carefully preparing for CEO succession and we are confident Fiona is the right person to lead TAL into the future.

“I would like to sincerely thank Brett for his leadership of TAL over the last nine years. He has built a strong executive team and provided the vision and leadership enabling TAL to grow and go from strength to strength to become one of Australia’s leading life insurers during a significant period of change for the life insurance industry.”

Incoming TAL Group CEO and Managing Director Fiona Macgregor said she is looking forward to leading TAL Australia through its next stage of development.

“Together with our partners, we want to continue to ensure Australians are wellprotected and supported in living the life they have planned for themselves and their families. We’ll keep working hard to ensure we deliver products that are relevant and valued, and a faster, better service experience.

“I’m immensely proud of the contribution we make and the help we provide to Australians when they need us most. I feel privileged to have this opportunity to lead the TAL team.”

Outgoing TAL Group CEO and Managing Director Brett Clark said “It’s been a privilege to lead TAL through a significant period of growth and industry change.

“TAL is a company with a long and proud history in Australia, and I’ve seen every day the difference that we make to the lives of our customers and their families.

“I’m excited by my new opportunity with Dai-ichi Life Group, and to be able to continue to support Fiona and TAL as part of my CEO role in Asia-Pacific.”

Brett and Fiona will work closely together over the coming months to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

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Jenny Oliver has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive – Group Life & Retirement. Ms Oliver will be responsible for leading TAL’s partnerships with the superannuation community in providing market-leading life insurance solutions to superannuation fund members, and leading TAL’s work in the development of solutions that support Australians to retire with confidence.

In her current role as TAL’s Chief Claims Officer, Ms Oliver has led the transformation of TAL’s claims capabilities, building a strong claims leadership team, investing in the broader claims team skills and capabilities, amplifying strong risk and governance practices, and delivering an ambitious technology transformation program.

TAL will undertake a recruitment process to fill the vacant Chief Claims Officer role. In the interim, Ms Oliver will continue to provide executive oversight for TAL’s Claims function.

After a decade with TAL, Chief Commercial Officer – Individual Life, Tim Thorne has decided to retire from his executive career and pursue a non-executive portfolio. Mr Thorne has led the Individual Life business through a period of significant change and growth, including the acquisitions of Asteron Life and Westpac Life. Mr Thorne has brought a culture of innovation and strong customer focus to TAL during a period of significant disruption in the Australian life insurance industry.

Fiona Macgregor has been appointed as Chief Executive – Individual Life, replacing Mr Thorne.

Since joining TAL more than nine years ago, Ms Macgregor has held a number of leadership roles across innovation, customer, brand and technology. In particular, as Chief Information & Innovation Officer for the last five years, Ms Macgregor has worked deeply on strategy formulation and delivery, the acquisition and integration of Asteron Life and Westpac Life, and enabling business growth and performance through the connection of technology and business capabilities.

Under Ms Macgregor’s leadership, the Individual Life business will be focused on industry leadership in outcomes for customers, delivering value in TAL’s partnerships with financial advisers and strategic alliance partners, and providing Australians with access to high-quality life insurance solutions through their channel of choice. Ms Macgregor’s appointment will also see an emphasis on market-leading digital enablement and delivery to meet the needs and expectations of customers and partners.

Executive General Manager, Technology, Hinesh Chauhan has been promoted to the role of TAL’s Chief Information Officer, with responsibility for the company’s technology function.

Since joining TAL in 2018, Mr Chauhan has made a significant contribution to strengthening TAL’s technology function, and digital culture and capabilities. Mr Chauhan remains focused on working with TAL’s technology partners to support business operations, meet rising information and cyber security expectations, and to enhance the way TAL supports its customers and partners through both existing and new technologies, such as generative AI.

In communications to employees and partners, TAL Group CEO and Managing Director, Brett Clark on behalf of the Executive Team thanked Mr Thorne for his valuable contribution and added that the internal appointments were a testament to TAL’s commitment to fostering strong leadership and succession planning within the company.

“These leadership appointments to Group Life & Retirement, Individual Life and Technology reflect TAL’s unwavering commitment to our customers and partners and I am delighted that it has been an obvious choice to appoint these roles from within TAL, reflecting our commitment to leadership development and succession planning. I would also like to thank Tim for his valuable contributions to TAL over a decade and his leadership of the Individual Life business through a period of significant growth and change,” said Mr Clark.

The Executive Team appointments take effect immediately.

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