Saunders will join the company in this newly created position from 1 April, the company said in a statement. He will also be a member of the AIA Group Executive Committee.
At Towers Watson, Saunders was managing director for the company’s Asia Pacific insurance practice and the overall Hong Kong business. Saunders joined Towers Watson in 1997 and has been working in Asia since 1989.
Mark Tucker, AIA Group chief executive and president said AIA will benefit from the “unrivalled breadth and depth of his experience and expertise in the life insurance industry”.
AIA recently reported its earnings for the year ended November, which reflected the value of new business, rose by 25%.
Asia's largest insurer entered into a 15-year bancassurance deal with Citibank at the end of the last year. Under the deal, the bank will offer the insurer’s products in 11 markets in the Asia-Pacific region, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, India and Korea, reaching 13m customers.
