Mark Wilson (businessman)
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Mark Andrew Wilson (born 22 August 1966) is a New Zealand businessman, who was chief executive officer (CEO) of
Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 19 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...
from 2013 to 2018.


Early life and education

Wilson grew up in
Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...
, New Zealand and was educated at the
University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...
.


Career

Wilson joined National Mutual, an insurance business based in New Zealand in 1987, and progressed through the management structure. He became chief executive of
AXA Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...
Southeast Asia in 2001, chief executive of AXA Hong Kong in 2003 and chief executive of AIA in March 2009. He went on to become chief executive officer (CEO) of
Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 19 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...
on 1 January 2013. In March 2018, Wilson was appointed as a non-executive director of
BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...
. Wilson was named in the 2016
Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John ...
list of Britain's 500 most influential people, a group of individuals who have influenced or made a difference to British society. He was included in that year's list for his role in returning the British insurer to profit and finalising the £5.6bn acquisition of Friends Life, the largest takeover in the insurance sector in nearly 15 years. The merger turned Aviva into one of the UK's largest investors, managing £300bn-plus in assets. In 2016 Wilson was ranked 12th in Bloomberg's evaluation of the world's best value CEOs. Bloomberg looked at the pay-for-performance ratio of 100 CEOs at some of the largest companies around the world to see which companies are getting the best value from their CEO. Wilson was listed in the 2016 Debrett's 500 List as one Britain's most influential people in finance for returning the insurance multinational to profit and overseeing the Friends Life acquisition.


Business experience

Wilson was credited with steering AIA through the financial crisis – a period that saw parent company
AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. As of 2023, AIG employed 25,200 people. The company operates through three core ...
bailed out by the US government. He prepared AIA for its flotation on the stock market in Hong Kong in 2010, increasing the company's value to $36bn at the time of listing. He has continued his turnaround work at Aviva, which had run into difficulty at the point of his arrival. Wilson refocused its life and general insurance businesses and bolstered its balance sheet. Under Wilson's leadership, Moody's upgraded Aviva Plc's senior unsecured debt rating to A2 from A3 and Aviva Plc's commercial paper rating to P-1 from P-2. Having turned around Aviva's performance, he is now looking to transform Aviva into a fintech firm. Opening 'Digital Garages', setting up a new insurance digital business in Hong Kong with Chinese internet company
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
and private equity firm Hillhouse Capital, the MyAviva digital hub and Aviva's investment in its own digital transformation are all indicators of Wilson's effectiveness in achieving this aim.


Social purpose

On 25 September 2015 Wilson joined 193 world leaders to commit to the
Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...
at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
in New York. In a rare opportunity for a private sector CEO, Wilson addressed a
UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...
plenary session on behalf of the global business community, calling for business and governments to work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. He was also a leader in setting up the World Benchmarking Alliance, a set of league tables scoring companies against their sector peers on their responses to major sustainability issues. Wilson stated his aim as being to “turn the SDGs into a corporate competitive sport”. He is also a member of the EAT Foundation advisory board, which he joined in June 2017. The Foundation’s ambition is to reform the global food system so that it is sustainable and supports a growing global population with healthy food from a healthy planet. Wilson has written about various social issues including putting the brakes on fraudulent insurance claims, and ensuring everyone plays their part to keep the flood threat at bay. Wilson is a chairman of the
Geneva Association ''Insurance Economics'' is a research programme set up by the Geneva Association, also known as the International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics. It is dedicated to making an original contribution to the progress of insurance th ...
, the international think-tank of the insurance industry. He is a member of the development board of
the Royal Foundation The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales is an independent United Kingdom-based charity which supports the non-profit work of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Established in 2009 as The Foundation of Prince William and Prince ...
for the
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and
Duchess of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge is a hereditary title of nobility in the British royal family, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city of Cambridge in England. It is heritable by male descendants by primogeni ...
and the
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and Duchess of Sussex. He stepped down from his position as CEO of Aviva on 9 October 2018.


Awards

Wilson received a distinguished alumni award from
Waikato University The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in numerous disciplines such as education, socia ...
in 2017.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Mark New Zealand chief executives 1966 births Living people University of Waikato alumni Aviva people BlackRock people