Axa Health has appointed Heather Smith as chief executive officer (CEO).
Smith (pictured) joins from Allianz where she is currently MD for retail responsible for providing personal lines insurance to 3.7 million customers across all major distribution channels.
She also spent 10 years at Aviva across both life and general insurance sectors in roles that moved from marketing and sales into profit and loss ownership of the Direct Insurance business line.
Before that she was at Aviva Health for 13 years in a number of roles that included responsibility for affinity partnerships, marketing (brand and product) and sales.
Smith will take up her role from mid-January 2024 subject to regulatory approval.
She succeeds Matt Vardy who took over the role on an interim basis from Tracy Garrad and who did not rule himself out from the running in May.
Vardy will revert back to financial director upon Smith’s appointment.
Health & Protection exclusively revealed Garrad was stepping down in March 2023. She has since been appointed CEO of Aviva Canada.
Tara Foley, CEO, Axa UK and Ireland, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Heather as the new CEO for Axa Health and look forward to her joining us next year.
“Heather is a strong and authentic leader who has a wealth of experience developing high performing teams and delivering the best outcomes for customers in both health and insurance businesses.
“I’m confident that she is an excellent fit for Axa and is the right person to lead Health through the important next stage of strategy delivery.
“I’d also like to offer my sincere thanks to Matt who continues to do a tremendous job as interim CEO. Matt is passionate about our health business and will be a great support to Heather when she takes up the role.”
Smith added: “I’m really excited to have been given the opportunity to take up the role of CEO of Axa Health and continue the excellent work being delivered by such a forward-thinking business. I hope to be able to build on these successes and work with the team to continue to grow the business together.”