New Zealand life insurer Sovereign Assurance has appointed former Millennium3 CEO Richard Klipin as Chief Distribution Officer.

Mr Klipin served as Association of Financial Advisers CEO before joining the dealer group three years ago.

He left Millennium3 in September under a restructuring of ANZ’s dealer group management.

Sovereign CEO Symon Brewis-Weston says Mr Klipin’s industry expertise and leadership background will drive Sovereign’s strategic direction.

“His proven track record as a successful leader within the insurance industry, along with his ability to navigate and lead through times of regulatory and industry change, made him ideal for this important leadership role,” Mr Brewis-Weston said.

“An important area of focus for Mr Klipin will be supporting distribution networks through a time of changing customer expectations, potential regulatory change and partnering with these networks to provide quality advice and support to customers.”

Mr Klipin will start at Sovereign next Monday.