Mr Chris Wei of Aviva has been recognised as Personality of the Year at the recent 21st Asia Insurance Industry Awards.
Mr Chris Wei is a digital trailblazer in the insurance industry, who successfully advocated the use of technology to transform the business in his current organisation, Aviva and the industry at large. As a rare Asian on the global insurance stage, his winning personality has been a key factor in amplifying his voice for the region on the international scene.
Mr Wei has a track record of extensive experience and success across multiple disciplines in the insurance industry. Today, he is the Global Chairman of Aviva Digital and is one of very few Asians who have ever stood tall on the global insurance stage.
He is a strong advocate of Asia’s insurance industry internationally, and is a leading proponent of digital insurance. He believes in leveraging technologies and innovations to better serve customers, increase efficiency, improve the general public’s perception of insurance, and enhance people’s quality of life.
Mr Wei regularly promotes the image and enhances the reputation of insurance to the wider community, participating regularly in media events, industry conferences, government advisory panels and is active on social media. He is a thought influencer who shares views beyond Aviva, relating insurance to other industries, social and macroeconomic trends. He truly believes in insurance’s role to defy uncertainty and improve living standards.
In developing talent, he believes in the space-to-lead model, in creating big jobs for capable people, and in giving them room to lead and develop. In his role, he has fostered a collaborative and motivational environment, where individuals with different expertise and experiences work together in innovative and agile ways, to create industry-leading solutions for customers. He has recruited talent from diverse backgrounds – both within and outside the insurance industry – for Aviva. This is just one example of his active role in general staff development. He also engages junior staff in career discussions, participates in university campus events, and personally led the development of the Aviva Scholarship.
He led Aviva to maintain discipline in profitable growth, such as its protectionfocused corporate strategy in China, which resulted in strong growth and praises from the Chinese regulator, CIRC. He has advised several CIRC affiliates, and also chairs the Singapore Digital Innovation Roundtable in cooperation with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the UK Department of International Trade.
Mr Wei is also a trailblazer in developing new practices. The Aviva Financial Adviser client service model in Singapore, the new digital insurance partnership with Hillhouse/Tencent in Hong Kong, which brings in leading customer analytics and access, and the partnership with Founders Factory in the UK stem from that spirit, as do Aviva’s digital garages that were set up across several cities worldwide within 24 months. It is in no small part due to his efforts that Aviva has transformed from a 321-year-old institution to be among the most advanced digital insurers in the world today.
Click here for the full list of winners and to find out more about the 21st Asia Insurance Industry Awards.