Donna Walker, Allianz Australia’s Chief Technical Officer, has died suddenly while holidaying in Africa.

Ms Walker, who was well known across the insurance industry, is understood to have died while climbing on Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with her husband.

A regular speaker at industry events and conferences, she was widely admired for the breadth of her insurance knowledge – a result of her actuarial training and the variety of roles she had held during 17 years at senior levels in CGU and parent company IAG.

These roles included chief actuary, GM technical services, GM claims and, most recently, EGM broker business.

She was a high-profile advocate for the advancement of women in insurance, and chaired IAG’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Group before joining Allianz as Chief Technical Officer in December 2017.

A note today from Allianz Australia MD Richard Feledy, on behalf of everyone at Allianz and its board of directors, says everyone at the company is “deeply saddened” by the loss.

“Donna was a much-loved and respected member of the Allianz family. In addition to being an integral part of Allianz's senior management team and an inspiring leader to her division, Donna was also passionate about celebrating the role that women and young people play in the Australian insurance industry.

“As Chair of the Women in Allianz network, Donna actively promoted the importance of flexibility in the workplace, diversity and inclusion. In her role on the Board of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, she actively engaged with emerging leaders in the industry and shared the wisdom from her wealth of experience.

“Donna will be profoundly missed by her family at Allianz. We send our deepest condolences to Donna’s family and friends.”

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