Austbrokers will increase its visibility outside the broker network in the coming year, CEO Mark Searles says.

“We will be talking to the external marketplace a lot more,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Commenting on the appointment of Vanessa Lyons as Head of Marketing to raise its profile, Mr Searles says Austbrokers has worked on building its value proposition over the past year, “making it really clear what we stand for and what we can offer potential partners”.

He says he is now ready to take this message beyond the group.

Ms Lyons has returned to Australia after three years in Chicago as head of marketing for Discover Financial Services, a banking and payments business.

Mr Searles says she has an impressive track record in new business development support.

Her role will involve working with the network to develop customer-specific propositions and campaigns.

Ms Lyons replaces Meg Hurley, who has moved to the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance as GM Marketing and Customer Insights.