There was strong reader interest this week in Dame Theresa Gattung stepping down as Chair and retiring from the AIA NZ Board and her replacement being another well-known businesswoman…
Dame Theresa Gattung DNZM will step down as Chair and retire from the AIA NZ Board at the end of the year, with current Deputy Chair Dame Paula Rebstock DNZM to become the new chair.
AIA NZ CEO Nick Stanhope says Dame Theresa has served as Chair of AIA NZ since July 2018, following AIA’s acquisition of Sovereign. She was also a Director of AIA Australia from May 2009, appointed Chair in March 2010, until stepping down from that Board in May 2021.
“We’re incredibly grateful for her leadership and contributions to both AIA Australia and NZ over the past 16 years,” he says.
Dame Paula will become Chair from 1 January 2026. She joined the Board in February 2022 and has served as Deputy Chair since June 2024.
Stanhope says her “…governance experience and strategic insight will be invaluable as we move forward.”
He also acknowledged AIA Group Chief Risk Officer, Jayne Plunkett, who will retire as a director of AIA NZ at the end of the year.
She will be succeeded by AIA Group General Counsel, Mitch New, who Stanhope welcomed to the Board.