IAG lands 15-year RSA veteran as chief financial officer
Australian insurance group IAG has hired a former 15-year veteran of RSA Insurance Group for the role of chief financial officer.
William McDonnell (pictured) has been appointed as IAG CFO, effective December 11, 2023, subject to regulatory approval. He will take over from current CFO, Michelle McPherson, who announced her retirement in May and will remain with the company until the end of the calendar year.
McDonnell has more than 25 years’ global experience across insurance, finance, capital markets, risk, governance, and regulation.
He spent 15 years at general insurer Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group (RSA), where for the last seven years he was group chief risk officer with accountability for the group’s risk, including strategic, underwriting, financial, compliance, and assurance. He also held senior finance and capital roles, and was group director of financial reporting and control, and head of economic capital, corporate finance and capital management. McDonnell left RSA when it was acquired in 2021 by Danish insurer Tryg and Canada's Intact Financial Corporation. Prior to that, he worked at Aviva, HSBC and Bank of England.
McDonnell also created and chaired RSA’s ESG Committee, was a founder member of the Bank of England’s Climate Financial Risk Forum, and a member of the University of Cambridge ClimateWise Council – a global network of leading insurance industry organisations. He chaired the CRO Forum Emerging Risk Initiative, leading its research into climate risks and insurability.
McDonnell joins IAG from the global governance body, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), where he spent two years as chief operating officer, reporting to the chair.
“William brings extensive experience in financial and capital markets to IAG, and a deep understanding of regulatory environments, finance, risk and climate risk,” said IAG managing director and CEO Nick Hawkins.
“In particular, his expertise in capital strategy and identifying trends and managing climate risk in a global context, will play an important part in creating a stronger and more resilient company. I look forward to welcoming William to IAG.”
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