Kristen Lennis-Harvey

North has appointed Kristen Lennis‑Harvey as Head of Business Development and National Sales Manager, reporting to Kristine Goodwin, Director, Platforms Growth and Wealth Distribution.

The appointment reflects North’s focus on backing advisers to grow stronger businesses – and support more clients to achieve better retirement outcomes.

It follows the addition of eight New Business Managers to North’s national sales team this year, as North continues to strengthen its distribution capabilities, expanding its footprint, and reinforcing its commitment to supporting the advice profession.

Kristine Goodwin, Director, Platforms Growth and Wealth Distribution at AMP, said the role is central to how North supports advisers as it continues to invest in the platform.

“Everything we do at North is focused on helping advisers grow their businesses and deliver great outcomes for more clients.”

“That means working closely with advisers, understanding what they need day to day, and ensuring our investment in the platform supports the way advice businesses are evolving.”

“Kristen has built her career on creating high performing teams and strong partnerships that drive growth.  That experience will be incredibly valuable as we continue to strengthen the way we support advisers.”

Edwina Maloney, Group Executive, Platforms at AMP, said advisers and their clients are at the centre of North’s growth strategy.

“Kristen’s appointment reflects our commitment to continuing to invest in North and in the people who work closely with advisers to help their businesses thrive.”

Kristen Lennis-Harvey background

Kristen has most recently held senior national roles at healthtech company United Health Group (UHG) and insurer AIA Australia, where she was responsible for overseeing key client relationships, negotiating large commercial contracts, driving sales growth and ensuring strategic alignment.

As General Manager – Customer at UHG, Kristen was responsible for driving growth through UHG’s strategic partnerships in the insurance, legal, workers compensation and CTP sectors.

Kristen has also served in National Account Manager roles at both Zurich Australia and Commonwealth Bank’s CommInsure.

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Kristen Lennis-Harvey has joined the business as its Head of Strategic Partnerships, and is responsible for managing AIA Australia’s relationships with licensees, aggregators and platforms – an increasingly important channel for life insurance. Kristen has over 19 years’ experience in financial services and joins the team from her most recent role at Zurich, where she was National Strategic Account Manager.

In addition, Melissa Crawford has been appointed to the newly created role of Distribution Strategy Manager and will work with the strategic partnership and distribution teams to create leading strategies and tools for licensees and advisers. Well-known to the industry, Melissa has over 20 years’ experience in life insurance at some of Australia’s largest organisations.

These external hires are supported by two internal promotions for Matthew Wakefield and Jeremy Bernardi, who also join the Strategic Partnerships team. Matthew will take on the role of Key Account Manager, overseeing a number of AIA Australia’s strategic licensee partners, while Jeremy Bernardi becomes Key Account Manager for Platforms and Licensees, increasing the focus on the use of platforms in life insurance.

AIA Australia Chief Retail Insurance Officer Pina Sciarrone said the changes to the team come at an ideal time for the business as it continues its growth trajectory in the Australian life insurance market

“At AIA Australia we understand that with the latest reforms to life insurance, advisers and licensees are facing a difficult change that affects the viability of their business, so by boosting our team with more experience we can better support our partners in future,” she said.

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Mrs Lennis-Harvey joins Zurich from CommInsure where she held the position of National Account Manager. In this role and in her previous roles in the financial services industry, including senior positions with MLC and ING bank, Mrs Lennis-Harvey has built a strong reputation for her ability to develop and maintain strong business relationships with key Dealer Groups.

Mr Philip Kewin, General Manager Sales and Marketing, Retail Risk, said “We are delighted that Kristen has joined the Zurich team. Her depth of knowledge and strong relationships in the industry make her ideally suited to take advantage of the platform Zurich has already established in the marketplace.”

Mr Kewin said, “We’ve had fantastic growth in Retail Risk and delivering a valuable proposition to our key Dealer Group partners is essential to this continued success.”

The role of National Key Account Manager, Retail Risk, is focused on developing strategies to not only maximise the relationships we have with existing accounts but to continue to focus on new opportunities where Zurich’s market-leading products, services and technology can be used to help build adviser businesses.

According to Mr Kewin, “We have a great team and culture and Kristen is a valuable addition to the Zurich family.”

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