Management tier goes as Aviva makes things simpler

The group said Europe chief executive Igal Mayer, North America CEO Richard Hoskins and Aviva Investors CEO Alain Dromer are leaving as it creates “shorter and more direct reporting lines”.

The departures form part of an overhaul which will replace Aviva’s four-part regional management structure with a new dual structure based around developed and higher-growth markets.

UK life insurance CEO David Barral, UK general insurance CEO David McMillan and France CEO Philippe Maso will join the insurer’s executive committee.

The group, which has around 4,500 Yorkshire employees, has its UK life and pension business based in York. It has about 2,600 staff in York and 1,600 in Sheffield.

Aviva will focus one arm of its business on the developed markets of the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, the USA and Canada. Its priority will be to increase profits and cash generation through efficiency and taking advantage of scale. Its higher-growth arm covers Asia, Poland, Turkey and Russia, where Aviva said growth is high but penetration of insurance products low.

“We expect that these businesses will grow quickly and make an increasingly material contribution to profits,” it said.

Trevor Matthews will run the developed markets arm, while Simon Machell will head the developing markets division.

Chief executive Andrew Moss said: “The changes I am announcing will result in a simpler and more efficient organisation which will deliver further operational benefits, accelerate delivery of our strategy and provide opportunities for profitable growth.

“I am pleased to welcome David Barral, David McMillan and Philippe Maso to the group executive committee.

“I would also like to thank Igal Mayer, Richard Hoskins and Alain Dromer for their enormous contribution to Aviva and wish them well for the future.”

Aviva said it is recruiting a successor to Mr Dromer, who will report to finance director Pat Regan.

Analysts said the change should save some of the £102m the company racked up in regional management costs last year.

Further details on cost savings will be disclosed at an investor presentation on May 24, Aviva said.

“On balance we see the reorganisation as sensible, leading to a sharper focus on efficiency and cash flow in the group’s developed markets,” said analysts at Deutsche Bank.

The new structure tallies with an 18-month-old retrenchment strategy which has reduced the number of countries the insurer operates in from 30 to 21.