Aviva has appointed Rob Barker as managing director of its savings and retirement business, with immediate effect.
Barker, who was previously managing director of Aviva’s health and protection business, will report to Doug Brown, chief executive of Aviva UK and Ireland Life.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Barker has been with Aviva since 2014, when he joined the company as a strategic partnerships director.
He has also previously held other director roles at various insurance companies such as Standard Bank Group and Hollard Insurance.
FTAdviser understands that Lindsey Rix, current chief executive officer of Aviva's UK savings and retirement business, is leaving to take up an external role. The company said it could not comment further on details of her new role.
Rix joined Aviva in 2014 as chief operating officer and was appointed to CEO of savings and retirement in late 2019. Before Aviva she held a number of senior roles at both Barclays and Santander in commercial banking and wealth management.
Amanda Blanc, Aviva chief executive officer, said: “Aviva is a market leader in savings and retirement, and we have significant ambitions to grow further in these attractive and strategically important segments.
“Rob’s track record in driving innovation, growth, and profitability, across multiple product lines and distribution channels, in his more than 20 years in our industry, makes him ideally suited to lead our growth plans.”
Barker said: “I’m delighted to take on this exciting new role serving the savings and retirement needs of our customers in the UK. The savings and retirement business represents a strategically important market for Aviva, and an area where we are targeting meaningful growth.
“With record net flows of £8.5bn in 2020 it is already a strong platform to build from, and it is a privilege to be asked to lead savings and retirement in the next phase of its development.”
Aviva’s full year results for the period ended December 31, 2020, published last month (March 4), showed its savings and retirement business saw net flows grow by 14 per cent to £8.5bn, up from £7.5bn at year end 2019, driven by group pensions and platform sales.
Operating profit increased by 35 per cent to £119m driven by higher revenues, with assets under management up 13 per cent to £128bn.
Aviva stated: “The savings and retirement market represents an enormous opportunity for Aviva in the UK.
“The shift to defined contribution pension saving as individuals are increasingly having to take responsibility for their financial futures as well as regulatory changes such as the introduction of auto enrolment mean that the DC workplace pension market is expected to grow from £390bn in 2020 to more than £950bn in 2028.”
amy.austin@ft.com
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