Aviva has promoted its international insurance head Maurice Tulloch to be its new Aviva plc chief executive from today (4 March) after a six month hunt.

His appointment follows the shock departure of predecessor Mark Wilson who stepped down suddenly from the business in October after six years at the helm. He had reshaped the business but the share price underperformed and there were a number of technical woes, including with its platform arm.

Mr Tulloch will take over from Sir Adrian Montague, chairman of Aviva, who has been acting chief executive pending the appointment of a new CEO.

Sir Adrian will now return to his duties as chairman.

Mr Tulloch, who has joint British and Canadian nationality, will receive a basic salary of £975,00. Pension payments and bonuses could push his annual package to £2m to £3m and as high as £4.9m if all bonuses are achieved. He will also receive up to £250,000 to help with the costs or relocating from Canada where he is currently based.

Mr Tulloch joined Aviva in 1992 and was appointed to the board in June 2017.

He is currently Aviva’s chief executive, International Insurance and has responsibility for Aviva’s life insurance and general insurance operations in France, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Turkey and India.

He was previously chief executive of Aviva UK and Ireland General Insurance, one of the largest parts of the Aviva group.

Sir Adrian said: “Maurice will be an outstanding chief executive of Aviva. He knows the business inside out. Maurice knows our strengths, knows where we need to improve and has a deep understanding of insurance and customers’ needs.

“He is exceptionally well qualified to re-energise Aviva and deliver long-term growth.” 

Mr Tulloch said: “I am honoured to lead Aviva, a business I’ve been part of for 26 years. There is a clear opportunity to realise Aviva’s significant but untapped potential.

“Aviva is financially strong, we have a well-known brand and excellent businesses. But there is more to do to improve returns for shareholders.

“We must focus on the fundamentals of insurance and giving our customers the best possible experience - being there when they need us, protecting what’s important to them and helping them save for the future.”

Mr Tulloch’s package will include a basic annual salary of £975,000. He will also be eligible for pension payments of 14% of salary, in line with the maximum employer contribution at Aviva plc. He will also be eligible for bonus schemes of up to 300% of basic salary. Some of the bonuses would be paid in shares.

Mr Tulloch owns 348,797 shares in Aviva plc and will be required to build a shareholding in Aviva to the value of 300% of his basic salary.