TAL Board of Directors

Mark Joiner

ACA, MBA
Board Chair
Independent Non-Executive Director

Mark Joiner was appointed Chair of the TAL Board in June 2022 after joining the Board as an independent Non-Executive Director in May 2022.

Mark is an experienced company Director, currently serving as the Chair of PEXA Group and as an independent Non-Executive Director of Latitude Financial Services.

Mark was the Chief Financial Officer of National Australia Bank from 2008 to 2013, having previously worked for Citigroup in the United States and as a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group in Australia and the United States.

Mark is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from the Melbourne Business School.

Brett Clark

B.Com, FIAA
Group CEO & Managing Director

Brett Clark was appointed TAL Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director in April 2015.

Brett has over 25 years global financial services experience holding a range of senior roles across Strategy, Finance, Sales, Product and Marketing and Operations in both the Australian and international insurance markets.

A qualified actuary, he holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Melbourne and has completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD.

Brett is passionate about enhancing educational and career opportunities in rural and regional communities, and broader gender diversity through his roles as a Non-Executive Director of the Australian Business and Community Network and as a member of the Champions of Change Coalition. In addition, Brett is Co-Chair and a Non-Executive Director of The Council of Australian Life Insurers and holds a range of roles across the global Dai-ichi Life Group.

Sonia Petering

B.Com, LL.B, FAICD
Independent Non-Executive Director

Sonia Petering was appointed to the TAL Board as an independent Non-Executive Director in June 2015. Sonia chairs the Remuneration, Nominations and People Committee and also serves on the Audit Committee.

Sonia is an Australian legal practitioner with a practicing certificate in Victoria. She currently runs a commercial legal practice representing larger family-owned companies in their negotiations with ASX-listed companies on native-vegetation offset agreements.

Sonia is currently the Chair of Qantm Intellectual Property Limited, the Chair of Vitrafy Life Sciences Ltd and an independent Non-Executive Director of the University of Melbourne Law School Foundation Board. Sonia has also previously served as Chair of Virtus Health Limited, Chair of the Rural Finance Corporation of Victoria and as an independent Non-Executive Director for Cuscal Limited and the Transport Accident Commission, as well as for various private, not-for-profit and Government boards.

Christine Bartlett

BSc, MAICD
Independent Non-Executive Director

Christine Bartlett was appointed to the TAL Board as an independent Non-Executive Director in January 2017. Christine chairs the Risk Committee and also serves on the Audit Committee and the Remuneration, Nominations & People Committee.

Christine is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of Mirvac, Reliance Worldwide and Australian Clinical Labs. Previously, Christine has been a Director of Sigma Healthcare, GBST, Clayton Utz, PropertyLook and National Nominees Ltd, Chair of The Smith Family and Deputy Chair of the Australian Custodial Services Association.

Christine is an experienced CEO and senior executive with extensive line management experience gained through roles with IBM, Jones Lang LaSalle and National Australia Bank. Christine brings a commercial perspective especially in the areas of financial discipline, identifying risk, complex project management, execution of strategy, fostering innovation and taking advantage of new emerging technologies.

Paul Ruiz

 

BSc, FCA, GAICD
Independent Non-Executive Director

Paul Ruiz was appointed to the TAL Board as an independent Non-Executive Director in June 2020. Paul chairs the Audit Committee and also serves on the Risk Committee.

Paul was a partner with a ‘Big-4’ accounting firm specialising in the insurance and wealth management sectors of financial services and has worked with many of Australia’s leading insurers. He has also advised the Australian Accounting Standards Board on insurance matters. Originally from the United Kingdom, where he qualified as a chartered accountant, Paul moved to Australia in 1995 and has also lived in North Asia.

Paul has also previously held Directorships with the Fred Hollows Foundation and its controlled entity Alina Vision, AMA Group Limited, as well as being a member of a number of NSW Government Audit and Risk Committees.

Bruce Miller AO

B.A. (Hons), LL.B
Non-Executive Director

Bruce Miller was appointed to the TAL Board of Directors in April 2018 after concluding a 32 year career with the Australian Government in 2017. He serves on the Remuneration, Nominations and People Committee and the Risk Committee.

Bruce was Australian Ambassador to Japan from August 2011 until January 2017, and has had a 40 year association with Japan. He has spent much of his career dealing with Australia’s economic, political and security relationship with Japan, as well as, more broadly, Australia’s relations with East Asia, Australian responses to regional and global security issues and international legal issues.    

In Australia, Bruce has occupied senior positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Bruce is currently the Chair of the Foreign Investment Review Board, a Non-Executive Director of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (which is TAL’s ultimate holding company) and also holds a number of advisory roles for a range of Japanese and academic institutions. Bruce speaks fluent Japanese.

Yuichiro Abe

Bachelor of Political Science and Economics
Non-Executive Director

Yuichiro Abe was appointed to the TAL Board of Directors in April 2023, and also serves on the Remuneration, Nominations & People Committee. He has worked since 1993 for the Dai-ichi Life Group, one of the world’s largest life insurance and wealth management businesses. He served as the Senior Vice President of Protective Life from 2019 to 2022. He also served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of Star Union Dai-ichi Life in India from 2015 to 2019.

Yuichiro has over three decades of experience in finance, insurance, corporate management and expanding international business and asset management.

Currently, Yuichiro is also the Executive Officer of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, and Deputy Chief Executive Officer / Chief Operating Officer of DLI Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.. He assumes responsibility for the development, expansion and enhancement of existing operations in the Dai-ichi Life Group’s international life insurance business in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Naomi Edwards

BSc(Hons) FIAA FAICD
Independent Non-Executive Director

Naomi Edwards was appointed to the TAL Board as an independent Non-Executive Director in December 2022. Naomi serves on the Audit Committee and the Risk Committee.

Naomi is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (London and Australia) and is the 2023 President of the Actuaries Institute Australia. A former Partner of Deloitte, where she ran the Financial Services Industry Group, Naomi has had an executive career in the life insurance industry advising life insurers on M&A, valuations and pricing. Naomi has also worked extensively with fund managers and superannuation funds, in the Industry Super, Retail ESG and ethical super spaces. She currently works as a Chair and Non-Executive Director across a variety of listed and unlisted companies.

Naomi is currently the Chair of Accurium Limited, and is a Non-Executive Director for Yarra Investment Management and Propel Funeral Partners. She is the former Chair of Spirit Super and Australian Ethical Investment. She has also served on the boards of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Australian Ethical Super, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, the Tasmanian Development Board, Hunter Hall and Nikko AM Ltd.