Allianz Australia has named Mike Wood as the company’s new chief information officer, who will officially start as the insurer's tech chief on Monday next week.
Wood joins the insurer after spending almost three years as CIO of Westpac’s Institutional Bank division, and before that 4 years as the bank's CIO of Retail and Business Banking.
Before joining Westpac in 2014, Wood spent two years as chief information officer at Lloyds International, with previous experience leading IT departments at a number of other financial institutions including HSBC and Morgan Stanley.
Outgoing CIO Thomas Ruedesheim, who has overseen the global insurer’s A/NZ technology operations since 2016, will return to Europe in May to continue working with the Allianz Group.
Allianz Australia chief operating officer David Krawitz thanked Ruedesheim for his work over the past three years, and said the company is thrilled to welcome Wood to the team.
“He brings with him exceptional experience and expertise in IT operations globally and locally,” Krawitz said.
“Mike joins us at a particularly important time as we are implementing significant change across Allianz’s IT delivery to improve both our customer and employee experience.
"Mike’s extensive experience aligning business goals with IT strategy, and leading cross-divisional teams, will make him an instrumental member of our leadership team. We look forward to working with Mike on driving these exciting changes.”
Wood added that he’s enjoyed working in the financial services sector, “and this new role is a chance to learn with the Allianz team while helping to evolve their IT strategy for the future”.
“I look forward to being a part of Allianz and their exciting IT growth opportunities.”
