Sian Fisher is to step down as CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) after more than six years at the helm of the professional body.
Fisher (pictured) will complete her six-month notice period and leave on 31 March 2022 with her decision to step down timed to cover the forthcoming membership consultation – Shaping the Future Together – which is due to launch this month and conclude in Q1 2022.
This will enable the board to recruit a successor to take forward its refreshed strategy and resulting five-year plan.
The consultation follows a failed attempt by the CII to de-register the PFS as an independent body earlier this year and take it under full control along with the four other societies it already fully funds and operates – the Society of Mortgage Professionals, the Society of Insurance Broking, the Society of Claims Professionals and the Society of Underwriting Professionals.
Appointed CEO in 2016, the CII said Fisher had led the modernisation of the organisation, oversaw the delivery of a new manifesto, strategy, IT transformation and drove a culture change programme.
Her term as CEO was due to end at the close of 2020, but due to the impact of Covid and the arrival of a new CII chairwoman in July 2020, she offered to extend her tenure.
Prior to taking the CEO role, Fisher also served as CII vice president from 2003 to 2009 and was a board member from 2004 to 2010, when she chaired the General Insurance Working Group set up to reshape the qualification framework.Commenting on her departure, Fisher said: “When I joined the CII in 2016, I made a commitment to modernise the organisation during my five-year term, to make sure it was fit for the future and supported the vital role our members play in society.
“I’ve always believed that helping advance the influence and impact of the insurance and personal finance profession, is helping advance opportunity and equality for all.”
Fisher added it has been a privilege to work with her colleagues and the board to transition the CII into a more “sustainable, relevant, modern and diverse professional body”.
“I look forward to spending the next six months overseeing our forthcoming membership consultation and supporting the transition to a successor who will lead the next phase of the CII’s development,” she added.
Dr Helen Phillips, chairwoman of the CII, said: “Sian has led the CII at a pivotal time and as a board we are enormously grateful to her for all that she has achieved.
“We look forward to evolving her legacy, with a clear focus on building public trust and helping our members to support their clients in becoming more financially resilient.
“I want to thank Sian personally, it has been a privilege and a delight to work with someone whose intellectual agility and commitment to the CII is matched only by her integrity, graciousness and unerring good humour. I look forward to continuing to work together over the next six months.”