Swiss insurer Zurich Malaysia appointed a seasoned industry leader with more than 18 years of experience in the life insurance industry across the Asia Pacific region as the new CEO of Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad.

Zurich Malaysia has announced the appointment of Mukesh Dhawan as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad (ZTMB) effective 1 March 2019.

In this role, Mukesh will be responsible for executing Zurich’s strategic priorities to gain a more profitable foothold for its family takaful business in Malaysia. He succeeds Salim Majid Zain, who left the company in January 2019, and will report to ZTMB’s Board of Directors.

Seasoned Industry Leader

Dhawan is a seasoned industry leader with more than 18 years of experience in the life insurance industry across the Asia Pacific region. He has helmed various senior management and strategic roles in Accident & Health profit center management, strategic marketing, product management as well as distribution management in leading organizations such as Prudential Corporation Asia, AIG, and AIA.

Prior to joining Zurich, he was based in Singapore with the AIA regional team to drive its Premier Agency strategies within the South East Asian markets.

Profitable Growth

Dhawan joined Zurich Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad (ZLIMB) in January 2015 as the General Manager and Head of Market Management. Over the last four years, he has driven profitable growth for Zurich Malaysia’s life insurance and family takaful businesses through the development of unique customer propositions as well as establishment of robust distribution channels and partnerships.

He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management specializing in Marketing from Institute of Management Development and Research and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce, both in Pune, India.

A Stint in Retail Banking

He started his career with Xerox in India and had a stint in the retail banking industry, working with the Bank of America and ICICI Bank's startup team, before joining the insurance industry.