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The Senior Management Team

Jim Minto
CA
Managing Director
Jim Minto was appointed Managing Director of TOWER Australia, now TAL Limited, when the TOWER Limited Group demerged its Australian and New Zealand businesses in 2006.

Prior to that he had been Managing Director of various TOWER Limited businesses from 1988-2006 – covering Trustee services, Managed Funds, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, CEO of TOWER NZ and then CEO of TOWER Australia before taking on the role of Group Managing Director of the trans-Tasman TOWER Limited Group.

Mr Minto is a Board member of the Association of Super Funds of Australia (ASFA), Non-executive Director of KEA NZ (Australia) Ltd, Australia Finance Group Limited and a Panel Member of the Natural Disaster Insurance Review initiated by the Federal Government in 2011.
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Kent Griffin
BEc
Chief Financial Officer
Kent joined TAL in May 2012, and as Chief Financial Officer leads the finance and actuarial functions of the group.

He has significant experience in strategic finance, actuarial, risk, treasury, investor relations and regulatory and capital management in the life insurance, wealth management and banking sectors.

Kent joined TAL from Ernst & Young where he was a Partner and the Head of Actuarial and Financial Services Risk Management Advisory in Melbourne.

Prior to Ernst & Young, Kent spent nine years at AXA where he held a number of senior positions, including Regional Chief Financial Officer for AXA Asia.

Kent currently serves as Convenor of the Risk Management Practice Committee at the Institute of Actuaries.

He has a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University, is a Fellow of the Actuaries' Institute of Australia, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
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Brett Clark
B.Com, FIA
CEO Retail Life
Brett Clark was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Retail Life in August 2008. He has a wide range of experience in the life insurance market and has held a number of management and senior actuarial roles with firms working around the globe.

Before joining TOWER Australia, now TAL Limited, Brett was Deputy Managing Director of AIG Life in Australia and prior to that held positions in the company as General Manager Products and Distribution and as Chief Actuary.

Brett is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne with majors in Economics and Actuarial Studies.
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Geoff Black
B.Com
CEO Investments
Geoff Black was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Group Life in March 2006 before becoming Chief Executive Officer of Investments in 2010. He has over 25 years experience in financial services working in New Zealand, South Africa, Britain and Australia.

Geoff joined the Lumley Insurance Group in 1988 in the capacity as Financial Controller and was appointed Managing Director of Lumley Life Limited in 1994. Following the merger of Lumley Life Limited and PrefSure Life Limited, he was appointed Managing Director of PrefSure Life. In addition to his executive role, Geoff is a Director of TAL Superannuation Limited, the Trustee of TAL's public offer superannuation fund.

Geoff holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma in Management and Financial Planning. He is a member of CPA Australia of the Australian Securities Institute.
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Andrew Boldeman
B.Ec, FIAA
CEO Group Life
Andrew Boldeman was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Group Life in late 2010 having been a senior executive responsible for the Group Life business since 2007.

Andrew has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry having served in a number of capacities including as Chief Actuary for TOWER Australia, now TAL Limited, and as a Director at consulting firm Tillinghast Towers. He has worked both in Australian and internationally.

Andrew is a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and holds a Bachelor of Economics (Finance & Actuarial).
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John Hoyle
BA (Hons)
CEO, TAL Direct
John Hoyle was appointed CEO of TAL Direct in April 2012. He has deep experience in the direct insurance and direct marketing fields, and has led teams across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

John joined TAL Direct from Chartis Direct, a leading direct insurance company based in the UK with over 480 staff and 1.2 million policyholders. John served as CEO of Chartis Direct for more than five years.

Throughout his career, John has held senior leadership and marketing roles at AXA Sun Life, IMS Health Inc. and Barclays Bank.
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Peter Noble
B.Com, LL.B
Head of Corporate Governance
Peter Noble joined TOWER Australia, now TAL Limited, as Head of Corporate Governance in January 2007 from a Sydney law firm where he was Managing Partner. Peter has over 30 years’ experience in legal and financial services including as General Counsel at AMP and practising with international law firms in Australia, Asia and the United States.
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Phil Soutter
Chief Information Officer
Phil Soutter joined TOWER Australia, now TAL Limited, as Chief Information Officer in November 2009. He has more than 30 years’ experience in information technology working for major corporations in Australia.

Prior to joining TAL, Phil was Joint CIO for St George Bank which was acquired by Westpac Banking Corporation. He has held senior IT roles within St George, as well as working for Barclays Bank and Goodyear Tyre and Rubber.

Phil Soutter’s role covers all IT aspects of the TAL Group and brings co-ordination across all parts of the company’s activities.
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Philippa Ellis
B.Sc, B.Com
Head of Corporate Affairs & Strategic Marketing
Philippa Ellis was appointed Head of Corporate Affairs & Strategic Marketing in June 2011 for TAL Limited. She was previously General Manager Investor Relations and Listed Company Secretary of TOWER Australia Group Limited, now TAL Limited.

Prior to joining TAL in November 2006, Philippa held senior roles in TOWER Limited in New Zealand covering corporate development, strategy, marketing, investor relations and company secretary. She has over 30 years’ experience in financial services working in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.
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Penny Coates
Head of People and Culture
Penny Coates joined TAL Limited in September 2011 as Head of People and Culture for the Group. Mrs Coates moved to TAL having spent eight years with Westpac Banking Corporation where she held a number of General Manager, Human Resources roles. She also spent time driving transformational change and culture building at the Bank.

In Australia, prior to joining Westpac, she worked with two of the country’s largest professional advisory companies (KPMG Consulting and Deloitte Consulting), in both consulting and Human Resources roles. Penny developed and delivered people, culture, change and communication initiatives for major programs in several global companies.

Mrs Coates started her career in the United Kingdom in retail including time with Marks and Spencer PLC and the health and beauty group The Boots Company PLC. She has worked extensively across Asia and Europe, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

At TAL, Penny is a member of the senior executive team with responsibility for all human resources and training programs across the Group along with staff communications and the further development of a culture specific to TAL.
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Toru Nagashima
Dai-ichi Life Liaison Executive
Toru Nagashima is a member of the TAL Limited senior executive team. He is an alternate director for the TAL Directors from Dai-ichi Life, Mr Takayuki Kotani and Mr Tetsuya Kikuta.

Toru Nagashima joined TOWER Australia (now TAL Limited) in March 2009 in the key role of further developing and maintaining an ongoing positive and cooperative relationship between the company as its then principal shareholder, Dai-ichi Life. Dai-ichi Life is now the sole shareholder in TAL Limited.

Prior to his appointment in Australia, Mr Nagashima was General Manager, Structured and Alternative Investment Department, Dai-ichi Life, Japan. He joined Dai-ichi Life in April 1983 and has significant business experience, particularly in the investment area.
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