The funeral for highly respected Allianz executive Donna Walker will be held in Melbourne on Friday afternoon.

Friends and family are invited to attend the service at the Holy Trinity Church, 225 Nelson Place at the western bayside suburb of Williamstown, starting at 1.30pm. The funeral will then proceed to Williamstown Cemetery.

Tributes have flowed for Ms Walker, Allianz Australia’s Chief Technical Officer, who died suddenly on September 1 while holidaying in Tanzania with her husband James.

Ms Walker was Chairman of the Women in Allianz network, a high-profile advocate for the advancement of women in insurance and a regular speaker at industry events and conferences.

She was on the Board of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Prior to joining Allianz, Ms Walker held a variety of senior roles during 17 years at CGU and parent company IAG. These included chief actuary, GM technical services, GM claims and, most recently, EGM broker business.

Tributes published on insuranceNEWS.com.au and social media have described Ms Walker as an inspiring leader, engaging and thoughtful, and have said her death is a tragic loss to the industry.