The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) has welcomed David Foster, a non-executive director based in Brisbane, to its board.
Foster has a diverse portfolio of directorships and advisory roles, with his most recent senior executive role being the CEO of Suncorp Bank for five and a half years. Before Suncorp, he worked at Westpac for 14 years in several senior roles in Sydney and Queensland. He also served as the group executive, strategy, during the acquisition of Promina, one of Australia’s largest financial services transactions.
Currently, Foster is a non-executive director at Youi Insurance, Genworth, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. He is also the chairman of Motorcycle Holdings Ltd and G8 Education Ltd.
ARPC CEO Dr Christopher Wallace said he believes Foster will be a valuable addition.
“David Foster’s appointment will benefit ARPC as he has extensive financial services experience across banking, insurance, customer strategy, technology strategy, risk management, and governance,” Wallace added.
The announcement follows the appointment of Julie-Anne Schafer as a part-time board member of ARPC for three years, with her “deep insurance and public sector experience, coupled with her legal background,” described to be an asset to the board “at a time of dynamic change for the organisation.”
Read more: ARPC welcomes new board member
The ARPC has also welcomed the peak standards development body Standards Australia’s publication of the “Base-building physical security handbook — Terrorism and extreme violence (HB-188).”
ARPC is the project proponent for HB-188. In 2018, it submitted a proposal to Standards Australia regarding the handbook’s development to support the proactive risk management of large-scale infrastructure of commercial buildings.
For six weeks in 2020, the draft handbook was available for public comment, allowing industry professionals, consultants, organisations, and other governmental bodies to provide feedback.
Wallace explained that the handbook will help commercial building owners and operators to identify and assess building risks linked to terrorism and other acts of extreme violence and apply suitable controls to mitigate the risks.
He acknowledged ASIO, who provided technical protective security advice in support of the handbook. He also thanked “all of our stakeholders who kindly assisted us in the handbook process by providing content and reviews.”
He added: “The [HB-188] supports ARPC’s strategic priority to extend thought leadership and expertise on terrorism.”
The 85-page handbook is now on sale at Standards Australia, with the hard copy and soft copy options available for purchase via the online store of Standards Australia and SAI Global Standards – SAI Global.
