Dramatic changes at the top of Australia’s largest insurers will see IAG and Suncorp move into next year under new leaders and refined strategies. 

Last Monday Suncorp Personal Insurance CEO Mark Milliner resigned from the company and was named the following morning as the new COO at IAG, as reported in our Breaking News bulletin.

Mr Milliner, who built Suncorp’s personal insurance business under the “one company, many brands” strategy during 21 years at the group, is expected to work closely with Peter Harmer, who will replace IAG CEO and MD Mike Wilkins on November 16.

He was immediately replaced as Personal Insurance CEO by Gary Dransfield, who recently returned to Suncorp’s Sydney office after four years as Auckland-based CEO of Vero New Zealand.

Mr Dransfield has been working as interim CEO of Suncorp Life, and will be replaced in that position by Suncorp Life CFO Jeremy Robson “until a permanent candidate is appointed”.

Group CEO Michael Cameron, who replaced Patrick Snowball on October 1, says Mr Dransfield’s experience and track record “will build on the momentum we already have in the business”.

Mr Dransfield joined Suncorp in August 2009 and has held senior positions in operations, strategy and marketing at IAG, AMP and St George Bank.

Mr Milliner had been widely tipped as a front-runner to replace Mr Snowball as group CEO at Suncorp, and was reported in May to be “disappointed” by the board’s decision to appoint Mr Cameron, whose professional background is concentrated on banking and financial services.

It is understood Mr Milliner will join IAG in the middle of next year. A statement from the company says full details of his portfolio will be announced before the end of the year.

Mr Harmer says his new recruit is “one of our sector’s leading executives, and we are delighted he has chosen to join IAG. His experience in leading and growing insurance businesses and his passion for customer service will be a tremendous asset.”

Deutsche Bank says in a research note that it holds Mr Milliner in high regard, “so [we] expect he will be a valuable addition at IAG”.

“However, the exact nature of [his] role as COO is unclear, since there is already a strong executive running IAG’s personal insurance division and a strong bench in commercial insurance,” it says.

IAG also reported a high-level/high-profile departure last week, with Chief Strategy Officer Leona Murphy deciding to leave the company at the end of the year.

She intends to relocate to Queensland and pursue opportunities as a non-executive director.