Allianz Global Assistance hires new Aussie CIO

Specialty insurance and assistance services company Allianz Global Assistance Australia has appointed Michael Maczan, an executive from its European counterpart, as its chief information officer.

Michael Maczan.

Prior to starting in his role at the beginning of February, Maczan spent four years as the CIO of AGA Germany before being appointed the regional head of IT transformation for AGA Europe.

The role saw the IT executive given responsibility for 10 business units, managing IT strategy and architecture and program delivery.

During his 15-year IT career, Maczan has also spent 10 years at Accenture as the project and program manager responsible for controlling all technological resources.

In a statement, AGA's acting Australian CEO Craig Dalzell said Maczan was highly regarded within the group.

“Michael has a solid depth of knowledge and a strong track record of delivering excellent service as well as providing inspirational leadership to his employees. We are delighted that he will now lead the Australian team,” Dalzell said.

The CIO position was previously held by Luc Derix, who was promoted to the role in August 2012 following the departure of Abdul Hussein.

Derix oversaw a range of major IT projects, including the rationalisation of e-commerce platforms and a virtualisation project to replace desktops with VMware thin client virtual machines.

The Australian CIO vacancy was created after Derix was promoted to AGA’s APAC regional CIO in June last year.