AIA Australia says it has appointed Kristy Redfern as General Counsel, with effect from May 30.

Ms Redfern joined the insurer’s New Zealand operations in 2016 as General Counsel and Executive Director and during this time, she played an “instrumental” role in the acquisition and integration of the Sovereign life insurance business, AIA said in a statement.

She has been a Financial Services Council Board Director in New Zealand for the past five years.

Before joining AIA, she was Head of Legal at Suncorp Group New Zealand for several years and has previously worked for top global law firms in New Zealand, the UK and Oman.