Zurich has promoted Giles Crowley to the newly created role of head of customer & distribution management for Asia Pacific, and appointed Sarah Powell and Sebastian Francis‑Gash to new roles as part of changes to its general insurance leadership team in Australia.
Crowley will move to Singapore to take on the new role, where he will work with in-country teams across the region to further enhance underwriting capability and local market strategies in line with the business’s regional priorities, the insurer said in a statement on Tuesday.
He has worked with Zurich Group for more than 30 years, including more than a decade across Australia and New Zealand, and most recently served as head of commercial market for its Australian GI business.
The appointment forms part of a wider reshuffle in Australia, with Powell being appointed to the newly created role of head of international broker & customer engagement. She has spent more than a decade at Zurich in broker-facing roles, most recently as State Manager New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory, and previously held roles at Marsh and Brit Insurance.
Sebastian Francis‑Gash will become State Manager NSW, Commercial Markets, moving from his current role as State Manager for South Australia and Northern Territory. Before joining Zurich, he spent close to a decade in senior claims roles at Suncorp.
Alex Morgan, Head of General Insurance at Zurich Australia, said the appointments align with the group’s plans in Australia and across the Asia Pacific region.
“Giles’ appointment represents an excellent professional opportunity and an important strategic step as we continue to expand across the region,” Morgan said. “Sarah and Sebastian bring exceptional market presence, trusted broker relationships and a track-record for building high-performance teams to their new roles.”
The Australian leadership changes add to a series of recent Zurich developments across APAC. These include Digbijoy Shukla being named to head its regional digital business, with Roopa Malhotra moving to an executive role in Japan; Wayne Leow‘s appointment as Malaysia commercial insurance head; and Marcus Seow being named senior marine underwriter in Singapore.
