TAL appoints new CIO

Life insurer TAL has appointed David Gillespie as chief information officer, six months after former CIO Phil Soutter’s departure.

Gillespie is currently the executive director of technology for Fidelity Worldwide Investment in London.

He will relocate to Australia to join TAL on Monday, reporting to managing director Jim Minto.

TAL said today that Gillespie’s appointment came as it moved to establish more customer-centric business systems, processes and culture.

“Having most recently worked on delivering integrated systems that align around consumer needs, I am looking forward to contributing to TAL’s customer-driven business strategy,” Gillespie stated.

Gillespie replaces Michael Mitchell, who was recruited as interim CIO at TAL in August. Mitchell will remain at TAL during a transition period.

Soutter, a former Westpac technology executive, left TAL for personal reasons.