Geoff Summerhayes, who just completed a five-year term as board member at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and was formerly Suncorp Life CEO and MLC’s head of Superannuation and Investment, has been appointed to Zurich Australia’s boards.

Zurich says Mr Summerhayes championed organisational transformation across APRA and has led “significant regulatory change in Australia and globally as a forthright leader, raising awareness of climate change financial risk”.

Mr Summerhayes becomes Independent Non-Executive Director and Member of Risk, Compliance and Audit Committee on the boards of Zurich Australia, Zurich Australian Insurance, OnePath Life, OnePath General Insurance, and Zurich Financial Services Australia, where the role also includes Member of People and Remuneration Committee.

He is also a director on the Zurich Investment Management board.

The Sydney-based executive is Chair at climate think tank Beyond Zero Emissions, a director at Heartland Group Holdings NZ, senior adviser for investment firm Pollination Group, advisory board member at CSIRO and co-author of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) COP 26 Submission on Insurance Policy and Regulation.

He has held leadership roles at the Council of Financial Regulators Working Group on Climate Change, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors Audit and Risk Committee, and the UN Environment Program’s Sustainable Insurance Forum.

A post on LinkedIn says he looks forward to working with Zurich Australia and New Zealand CEO Justin Delaney and his “impressive team and board colleagues”.

The Australian newspaper recently claimed Zurich’s bid to sell its general insurance operations in Australia, excluding travel, will end in weeks, with the assets set to bring in between $400 and $600 million.