Amanda Hughes has been promoted to the role of Group Executive, People and Culture at QBE, effective next month.

Margaret Murphy, who is vacating the role to return to the UK, will work closely with Ms Hughes before departing QBE in late March.

Ms Hughes is a respected leader with significant human resources (HR) experience, Group CEO Andrew Horton says.

“We are fortunate to have such high calibre leaders within our organisation and Amanda’s appointment is a great example of how we are accelerating our talent and leadership strategy,” Mr Horton said, thanking Ms Murphy for her contribution to QBE and wishing her all the best for the future.

Sydney-based Ms Hughes joined QBE in June last year as Group Head of Culture, Performance and Reward.

Responsible for diversity & inclusion, she has led QBE’s culture program and her role was recently expanded to include HR accountability for QBE’s corporate functions. During her 17 years in Human Resources she has held executive roles at Lendlease, Macquarie Group and most recently AMP, where she was Director of People and Culture.

She began her career as a Chartered Accountant and has worked in London and Auckland.