Former Cover-More CEO Mike Emmett will become CEO of AUB Group from March 11, taking over from Mark Searles.

Mr Emmett was most recently CEO of Cover-More and has formerly held roles with QBE, EY, Accenture and IBM.

“We are delighted to have secured someone of Mike’s calibre, with his strong experience in diversified growth and distributed business models,” Chairman David Clarke said in a statement today.

He says Mr Emmett’s understanding of the “full suite” of insurance services aligned well with the group’s strategy.

Mr Emmett was recruited from QBE by Cover-More in July 2014 to replace Peter Edwards. The travel insurer was sold to Zurich in April 2017, and insuranceNEWS.com.au reported last September that Mr Emmett would step down as CEO in favour of a Zurich global executive, but would stay until the end of last year to assist in the transition.

At QBE, he was responsible for the company’s complex shared services operations.

Mr Searles announced in August that he intended to step down with a view to developing a non-executive director career. He will move to an advisory position with the group until October.

Mr Searles became CEO in 2012 and diversified AUB beyond its focus on Australian broking to make the company a broader provider of risk management services across Australia and New Zealand.

“We thank Mark Searles not only for his enormous contribution to AUB Group but also for his continued support in this succession process, which has enabled us to conduct a thorough search and plan for a smooth leadership transition,” Mr Clarke said.