Southern Cross Health Society has appointed Jordan Levesque (pictured) as chief legal officer, effective October 23, 2026. The move is not simply a replacement hire – it is part of a significant restructuring of the organisation’s legal and risk functions at a moment when both are about to face more scrutiny than they have in years.
Levesque’s predecessor, Laura Valiant, held the combined title of general counsel and chief risk officer. Valiant is leaving to become general counsel and company secretary at ANZ Bank New Zealand, confirmed in an NZX announcement in August 2026. Southern Cross has not publicly named a successor to the risk component of her role.
That unresolved question sits against a regulatory backdrop that is moving fast. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is advancing amendments to the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 (IPSA) that will impose binding, enforceable standards on insurer governance and risk management – two functions that, at Southern Cross Health Society, have just been formally separated with no public confirmation of who now owns the latter.
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The incoming changes are not an insurer-only concern.
According to legal analysis published by law firm Hesketh Henry in June 2026, broker distribution arrangements will be directly caught by the new standards. Under the draft amendment bill – released by the RBNZ in April 2026 for public consultation – insurers will be required to maintain written governance frameworks covering binder and delegated authority arrangements. This could include oversight, monitoring, and reporting obligations on those arrangements to the RBNZ.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has made its own expectations clear. In its Financial Conduct Report published June 30, 2026, the regulator identified managing conflicts from remuneration structures as one of four cross-sector themes applying directly to financial advice providers, including insurance brokers.
FMA executive director of licensing and conduct supervision Clare Bolingford addressed the point directly: “We do think that a range of remuneration models support good access to advice, so it’s not that we’re saying commission itself, you know, is bad or we don’t like it, but what we are concerned about is how the risks of conflicts of interests are being managed within remuneration models.”
The Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand (IBANZ) Code of Professional Conduct, which came into effect on November 1, 2025, sets out that brokers must conduct business with integrity and that financial advice must be suitable for the client. The IPSA governance standards, once finalised, will sit alongside those existing obligations – not replace them.
The legislation is targeted to come into force in mid to late 2028, with the full suite of standards not expected to be complete until 2032.
In his new role, Levesque will lead Southern Cross’s legal, governance, and remediation functions, providing strategic counsel on regulatory, governance, and commercial matters.
He has served as head of legal and governance at the Society, advising both the executive leadership team and board. Outgoing chief executive Nick Astwick, who announced in February 2026 that he would step down at the end of September, cited Levesque’s collaborative approach as central to the decision.
“One of Jordan’s greatest strengths is his ability to bring people together to solve complex challenges. He is an exceptional lawyer, but just as importantly he is a collaborative leader who earns trust through his integrity, pragmatism, and focus on doing what’s right for our members and our business,” Astwick said.
Before joining Southern Cross, Levesque held senior legal and governance roles at Westpac New Zealand and practised law at Chapman Tripp. He holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland, and a Master of Laws from the University of British Columbia.
The CLO appointment is one of several executive changes at Southern Cross in 2026.
Michael Saunders joined as chief financial officer in March 2026, having previously served as group CFO at Vitality UK. Jan O’Keefe – currently chief commercial officer at HBF Health in Australia – was appointed CEO in July 2026 and is due to start in February 2027. Keren Blakey joined in February 2026 with more than 30 years of experience across governance, audit, and risk.
Within the wider group, Southern Cross Travel Insurance moved in the opposite direction, appointing Sarah Owen as chief risk and legal officer in April 2026 – combining the two functions the health society has just separated.
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Southern Cross’s FY25 results, published in September 2025, show it paid out $1.706 billion in claims during the year ended June 30, 2025 – up 14% on the prior year – against $1.811 billion in premium income. The health insurance arm posted a $56.9 million deficit, with membership at 951,808.
Astwick pointed directly to pressure on the public health system as the driver. “There is clear evidence our public health system remains under pressure. We’re seeing members of all ages using their policies more than ever to access the private healthcare treatment they need, when they need it,” he said.
For brokers with distribution agreements in place, the combination of an unconfirmed risk function, a new CLO, a new CFO, an incoming CEO, and IPSA governance standards that will formalise broker arrangement obligations means the changes at Southern Cross extend well beyond a single appointment.
