15-year vet new CEO at Aviva Canada
Aviva Canada Inc. has named a new chief executive officer amid a savings drive and possible job cuts that have been planned by the insurer’s parent company in the United Kingdom.
Jason Storah will take over as CEO of Aviva Canada on July 1, the company said in a press release on Friday, succeeding Colm Holmes, who is returning to London to become chief executive of U.k.-based Aviva Plc’s general insurance arm.
Storah is a more than 15-year veteran of Aviva Canada, having served most recently as its chief distribution officer, the company said.
“Over the last 18 months, we have worked hard to improve our business performance, and while this has meant making some tough calls, it’s put us in a much stronger position to now grow,” Storah said in the release. “Aviva will become exceptional at the fundamentals of insurance, which is what we are here for after all."
Aviva Canada, a subsidiary of London- headquartered Aviva, is one of the biggest property and casualty insurance companies in the country, with 2.8 million customers and more than 4,000 employees.
It will also be, however, subject to the approximately 1,800 job cuts its U.K. parent company is pursuing across its global operations.
Aviva said Thursday it wants to reduce expenses by 300 million pounds a year by 2022, with the savings eyed from lower costs and project spending, and involving around 1,800 “role reductions” out of the insurers’ approximately 30,000- strong workforce.
The company’s recently appointed CEO Maurice Tulloch said reducing costs “is essential” to keeping the insurer competitive.
In providing the update, Aviva also said its life and general insurance businesses in the U. K. would be managed separately, and that Holmes was appointed CEO of general insurance, pending regulatory approval.
Holmes will keep his seat on Aviva Canada’s board, the release said, “with continued oversight into the Canadian operations — providing continuity to the leadership team and current strategy.”
Storah oversaw RBC Insurance in his role as chief distribution officer.
“Jason, along with the rest of the executive team, have sown the seeds for a successful turnaround at Aviva and I know that, under his leadership, this team will go from strength to strength,” Holmes said in the release.