KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 2): Zurich Insurance has appointed Stephen Clark as the new chief executive officer of Zurich Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd (ZLIMB).

Clark replaced Philip Smith, who left the company at the end of September.

Clark reports to ZLIMB's board of directors as well as Zurich's CEO for Asia Pacific, Jack Howell.

"Steve has a deep understanding of the local markets and a natural ability to build long lasting relationship with distribution partners," Howell said in a statement.

"We have strong ambitions for Malaysia, which is an important market in Zurich's APAC strategy. We are excited about Malaysia as its fundamentals are strong — promising economic prospects, sizeable middle class and a young and under-insured population.

"I am confident that with Steve on board, we will be able to expand our business, strengthen our distribution and drive customer engagement," Howell added.

Clark, whose new position took effect Oct 1, has almost 30 years of experience, with a proven track record in driving business growth and developing strong distribution channels.

"He has been in APAC for almost 20 years, having worked in Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the Philippines," the statement said.

Prior to Zurich, Clark has held the role of CEO for Prudential in Vietnam as well as AIA in Vietnam and the Philippines.

"His extensive experience spans across sales and distributor, bancassurance, general management, regulatory management as well as governance," the statement added.