Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
AIA Korea sees influx of figures from headquarters
AIA Korea CEO Peter Chung, center, poses with CMO Harshal Shah, right, and chief technology digital officer Kim Young-seok. / Courtesy of AIA Korea
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
The latest appointments to key positions at AIA Korea shows an influx of figures from AIA Group, as the Pan-Asian insurance firm seeks to strengthen its digital capabilities.
AIA Korea said Monday that former director of group partnerships Harshal Shah has been appointed as the local unit's CMO. The appointment came alongside EY partner Kim Young-seok's appointment to the chief technology digital officer (CTDO) position.
This comes after AIA Korea CEO Peter Chung was tapped for the position in December. Chung also came from AIA Group ― he served as the group's director of regional business development prior to taking the CEO position.
Chung's predecessor Cha Tae-jin and other executives that served with Cha were appointed locally, from outside AIA Group.
"Before Cha, we had figures from the group serving in positions here, but this was unseen for some time," an AIA official said. "The latest appointments are seen to have been made to align AIA Korea with the group's digitization vision."
AIA Group recently took moves to accelerate its digitization drive. The group in November appointed former executive director of Ping An Insurance Company of China Lee Yuan Siong to its CEO position. Ping An is regarded one of the most innovative financial groups in China leading digital transformation.
The group is seeking for AIA's Korean unit to take on the same drive, as a means to find new opportunities in an increasingly saturated market.
The Korean unit has made digital transformation a top priority and plans to concentrate its digital-related investments through 2023.
AIA Korea plans to upgrade its AIA Vitality app to enhance customers' digital experience with the insurer. AIA Vitality is a program seeking to enhance the health of policyholders. The local unit is also set to establish a digital-based system at the company and set up an artificial intelligence (AI) based insurance screening and claim processing by integrating big data and AI technology.
The CMO and CDTO were appointed based on their digital capabilities, AIA said. Shah was in charge of digital projects during his 20-year career in the finance and insurance sectors in Asia. Kim provided setup consulting services to internet banks including Kakao Bank.