Former OAMPS CEO Keith McIvor has been recruited by Austbrokers to be its first Chief Broking Officer.

Mr McIvor, who left OAMPS in October after three years as CEO, is one of two major appointments announced by Austbrokers today.

CGU National Operations Manager Sunil Vohra has also been recruited, becoming the broker group’s first COO from September.

Austbrokers CEO Mark Searles says the appointments will take the group “to a new dimension” in the industry.

Both new positions were created following a strategic review, Mr Searles told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The group has been seeking quality recruits for some time and is delighted with the “marquee appointments”, he says.

Mr McIvor will begin his new role next Monday. A New Zealander who has worked in broking for 25 years, he was a senior manager at Wesfarmers’ NZ brokerage Crombie Lockwood when he joined OAMPS in 2008 as Head of Operations. He became CEO in July 2009.

“We now have broking expertise at the top table,” Mr Searles said. “Keith is really well-known in the industry and I’m very pleased he chose us over a number of other opportunities.”

“Sunil worked for me when I was at CGU,” Mr Searles said. “He will be a tremendous asset.”

Mr Vohra has extensive experience in strategy execution, including at ANZ Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal & SunAlliance Insurance in the UK. He will also be responsible for the group’s marketing function.

Meg Hurley will join the group next week as Marketing & Communications Manager. She is a former sales and marketing manager at Ansvar.

“There is a lot of change in the marketplace right now,” Mr Searles said. “These appointments take us to a new dimension and keep us ahead of the curve.”