Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has announced that its New Zealand CEO Amanda Whiting (main picture) has decided to return to Australia and a recruitment process to appoint a new leader for IAG New Zealand has started.

The brief statement of Whiting’s decision was issued today from IAG’s Sydney head office.

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The announcement follows yesterday’s report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) that executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder was exploring possible internal and external candidates to run IAG’s New Zealand operation. The AFR cited “sources with knowledge of the process.”

The report said Whiting, now into her fifth year running IAG’s New Zealand operation, “was keen to return to Australia and had recently been spending more time at head office.”

The IAG statement said Whiting will continue to lead the New Zealand business until a successor is appointed.