Suncorp Chair to step down

Suncorp Group has announced that its chair, Ziggy Switkowski, will retire from the board following the group's annual general meeting, effective 20 September 2018.

Christine McLoughlin, who has been a member of the board since 2015, has been appointed as his successor.

Switkowski joined the Suncorp board in 2005 and has served as chair for almost seven years. He is also chair of the NBN, a director of both Healthscope and Tabcorp, and chancellor of RMIT University.

During his career, Switkowski has held senior executive positions in the telecommunications industry with Telstra and Optus, and previously for Kodak Australasia.

Commenting on his departure from Suncorp and the appointment of McLoughlin, Switkowski said: "It has been a privilege to serve the company over the past 13 years. I am delighted with the Board's selection of Christine as the next Chairman. In her three years on the Board, Christine has demonstrated a broad range of skills relevant to financial services. This includes having an informed view with regards to innovation and the disruption of traditional business models, as well as bringing a contemporary focus to governance processes within the Group."

McLoughlin added: "It has been a great experience to serve under Ziggy's leadership and he leaves Suncorp well positioned for the future."