A former Medibank leader with extensive executive experience has joined the board of Insurance Australia Group (IAG).

George Savvides, former CEO of Medibank and Sigma Company (now Sigma Healthcare), joins the IAG board as independent non-executive director.

IAG Chairman Elizabeth Bryan said Savvides’s appointment will enhance the company’s pursuit of its strategic priorities of customer satisfaction, business simplification, and agility.

Savvides “has considerable knowledge of the insurance industry and experience in bringing about deep cultural changes in organisations undergoing transition,” Bryan said.

Savvides completed his executive career in 2016 and is now non-executive chairman of Next Science, deputy chairman of the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (SBS), and a non-executive director of New Zealand-listed entity, Ryman Healthcare. Savvides is a former non-executive director of Kings Transport, non-executive chairman of Macquarie University Hospital, and served for 18 years on the Board of World Vision Australia, including six years as chairman until his 2018 retirement.