“In terms of my career, it’s interesting to think how you end up where you are,” Doug Brown tells me as we sit in his office in the heart of London’s financial district.
Brown, who is chief executive of Aviva’s UK & Ireland Life division, sits behind a finely polished mahogany table with the ‘Gherkin’ skyscraper as a backdrop. It’s a long way from his beginnings in Winnipeg, the capital of the province of Manitoba that is often referred to as the heartbeat of Canada.
We have different businesses, advisers and customers, and how we bring that all together is sort of the fun part. But it’s also the challenging part
Brown seemed destined for a career in life insurance, with Winnipeg being the city that gave the world Canada Life.
As a Winnipegger starting his journey in higher education, Brown could choose from the city’s two elite colleges — the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg. He opted for the former, where he majored in actuarial and management sciences.
We have a role to play to ensure we educate our customers
It was a great place to start, he observes, but his ambition was too big for the somewhat provincial city.
“I soon became restless at being in Winnipeg. I wanted to move to a bigger city and try different things,” says Brown. “I ended up in Toronto in a different role, which was actuarial science but with computer programming. It gave me my first passion, for digital programming, which I still have today, but moved into actuarial software programming that supported clients.
“That got me introduced to AIG Life, which offered me the chance to effectively start a new operation in Canada, which was too hard to refuse: as an actuary, to be able to not just do the technical aspect but start up a business where you’re involved in sales, distribution, operations — I did that.
You’ve got to enjoy work and you’ve got to enjoy life outside work
“It went quite well and that got me noticed. They eventually asked [in 2004], ‘Would you like to come to the UK on a two-year stint?’
“I’ve now been in the UK for 19 years.”
At home while abroad
Like many Commonwealth citizens who come to London, Brown had intended his stay to be short — but life happens. Besides, London is a welcoming world city with a very diverse population. Around 300 languages are spoken and 37% of Londoners were born abroad. Brown and his family felt at home.
He adds: “There are lots of stories about people coming to London for two years and staying for longer. You’d love to plan these things but they don’t always pan out. I’ve always been willing to step outside my comfort zone.
There’s a lot of applicability with generative AI. We’re looking at ways to innovate within our business
“[This is] something I tell a lot of people: you’ve got to take the opportunity when it comes. It’s easy to say no, but sometimes you’ve got to do things that are a bit uncomfortable. So I’ve got a lot of different exposure and experience.”
This mentality enabled him to navigate a variety of senior management roles in the UK. He ran AIG’s subsidiary, Alico, from 2007 to 2010, when it was sold to MetLife for over £10bn.
After the AIG sale, Brown faced a tough choice: whether to uproot his family and return to Canada, or to stay on in what felt like his adopted country. His two sons had both been born in London and felt very British.
We’ve got a lot of customers; we have a lot of data. The more we can use that, the better outcomes we can provide
“Both of them now make fun of my accent,” he jokes.
In the end, the family’s decision was easy because they “really enjoyed London and we wanted to stay here”.
‘More rounded’
Brown’s career trajectory has ranged from highly technical actuarial roles to sales and marketing.
“All of that has made me a bit more rounded,” he says. “I don’t say I’m an expert in everything, but I know enough to ask the questions.”
In April 2021, Brown succeeded Aviva Life’s long-time CEO, Angela Darlington, who stepped down after almost two decades with the insurer.
Data and analytics have always been central to what Aviva does
“Joining Aviva was an absolute privilege. I couldn’t refuse the opportunity,” he says.
Brown, who reports to Aviva Group CEO Amanda Blanc, is a member of the group’s executive committee. Part of his remit is to extend the insurance giant’s market share in the UK. The challenge excites him.
Brown says he is working to deliver on the promise of meeting all the savings, retirement and insurance needs of Aviva’s customers at every step of their life. He oversaw a restructuring of the business to enable the trading units of the protection, wealth and retirement divisions to capitalise on their strong market positions.
He is full of praise for the range of offerings in the UK protection space.
“Given all the challenges and everything that’s happened in the UK, I think it’s a fantastic market.
We recognise that customers through their life stages have different needs. And not all of them will require advice or be willing to pay for that advice
“Sometimes we’re critical as a financial services industry in terms of what we offer. And the diversity of choice that UK consumers have is a positive thing,” he says.
Brown joined Aviva from Canada Life, where he had been executive vice-president and CEO of the UK division.
On the other side
He relishes his job at Aviva, a firm with which he was once in competition for many years. He says its strength derives from its brand and market position.
“There’s nothing a UK consumer needs help with that Aviva can’t provide. And, in previous roles, before I joined Aviva, it was almost criticised for the breadth of its offerings.
We’re absolutely committed to advice. And Succession Wealth is critical for that proposition
“It’s interesting being on the other side when you’re competing against them.
“Those firms had only half the breadth of offerings [we have] to cater to all those consumer needs.”
Brown is very keen to have the right team around him, which carries over from his sporting days. He is a former footballer whose career was cut short by injury. Today he enjoys coaching — of which more later.
I don’t have a typical day. We all have our governance things that we need to do as CEOs
“Aviva is a big organisation with lots of customers and advisers. There’s a complexity in the business and, to use a sports analogy, having the right team and people is absolutely key.
“I focus a lot as CEO on ensuring we have the right people and are doing the right things from a talent perspective; and are giving an opportunity to people to deliver. There’s always more and you’re always looking at it.
“The external environment is challenging not just for customers but for our own people. There is a lot of volatility in the market so how we educate people so that they continue to save is critical.
Before I joined Aviva, it was almost criticised for the breadth of its offerings
“I think we have a role to play to ensure we educate our customers. But that is a challenge, and the external market is probably the thing that in the short term we are focusing on.
“I talk about how we connect our propositions. We have different businesses, advisers and customers, and how we bring that all together is sort of the fun part of the business. But it’s also the challenging part. That excites me and we have good ideas as to how we can achieve it.”
‘Committed to advice’
One of the key areas Aviva wants to focus on is its wealth proposition.
Last August, the insurer bought Succession Wealth for £385m. The deal was designed to enhance Aviva’s presence in the UK wealth market. It enabled the firm to offer high-quality advice to its four million workplace pension customers.
“We’re absolutely committed to advice. And the need for that advice is why Succession Wealth is so critical for that proposition,” says Brown.
There’s nothing a UK consumer needs help with that Aviva can’t provide
“But we also recognise that customers through their life stages have different needs. And not all of them will require advice or be willing to pay for that advice.
“So what we’re trying to do with our wealth proposition is make sure we can cater to all of that.”
Hybrid advice will form part of Aviva’s wealth strategy, he adds. The insurer is already working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority on the guidance/advice boundary. It has contributed extensively to the FCA’s consultation on simplified advice.
AI for pensions
Brown says the insurer also wants to help with customers’ pension savings. It plans to launch an artificial intelligence (AI)-led pension-tracing proposition.
The AI-powered tool will create reports in a readable format to help customers better understand what pension savings they have, and then the best way to proceed.
“We’re quite excited to launch that,” he says.
It’s easy to say no, but sometimes you’ve got to do things that are a bit uncomfortable
“By using AI, we think it’s much more automated. Therefore, it will be a better customer experience for people as they go through.”
Brown adds: “Data and analytics have always been central to what Aviva does, even in the general insurance arm. We use a lot of data and analytics to improve the speed of how we pay claims and protection, how we underwrite business and how we get more straight-through processing.
“We’ve got a lot of customers; we have a lot of data. The more we can use that, the better outcomes we can provide for our customers.
“There’s a lot of applicability with generative AI. We’re looking at ways to innovate within our business, which can help our customers, advisers and internal customer-facing teams to do things with greater pace and agility.”
Quizzed on his typical day as CEO, Brown says no two days are the same.
“This is why I say I have one of the best jobs in the UK.
The diversity of choice that UK consumers have is a positive thing
“Some days I sit down with our retirement people and our BPA business. As you know, it’s highly technical and you can get into balance sheets, investments and internal models. I get back to my actuary roots.
“Other days I sit down with the wealth business and really get into what we do as a proposition.
“So I don’t have a typical day. We all have our governance things that we need to do as CEOs and, from a regulatory perspective, you have to deal with that. There are so many aspects to get involved with.”
Being outdoors
Brown clearly has a heavy workload and I want to find out how he spends his down time.
“Being Canadian, I love the outdoors. Anything that brings me outdoors, whether that’s cross-country skiing or hiking, I’ll always put my hand up. But I try to do some exercise every day to keep me going.
I don’t say I’m an expert in everything, but I know enough to ask the questions
“I’d love to play more golf, but it takes a lot of time and I’m not very good at it. I stick to team sports.”
Brown loves his football — a game he played semi-professionally. He was a defender and is a lifelong supporter of Manchester United.
“Moving to the UK, as a football fanatic, was fantastic,” he says.
He loves coaching football too, and volunteers his time to train youngsters aged nine to 13. His dream was to pass on his footballing skills to his sons. However, the boys have interests elsewhere.
Given all the challenges and everything that’s happened in the UK, I think it’s a fantastic market
“Unfortunately, they just cried when I brought them to football, so I never get to coach them. But they are doing what they want to do, which is fine.”
The father of two says he encourages his staff to have a healthy work/life balance.
“I say this to everybody at work, ‘You’ve got to enjoy work and you’ve got to enjoy life outside work.’
“If you don’t have a good balance, you’re not going to perform in work. And I make sure that everyone gets that balance.”
Brown says his slogan is: “Healthy body, healthy mind.”
DOUG BROWN: CV
Doug joined Aviva in April 2021 as CEO of UK & Ireland Life. He is a member of the group executive committee, reporting to Aviva group CEO Amanda Blanc.
Doug is the executive sponsor for the Aviva Balance community to support gender parity within the organisation. He also champions the Women’s Sponsorship Programme to accelerate the pipeline of women into senior leadership roles.
Career highlights
Before joining Aviva, Doug led Canada Life’s UK business as CEO for six years. Previously, he was Canada Life’s UK chief operating officer (COO).
Doug has held a range of other senior roles, including both COO and CEO of Alico UK (subsidiary of AIG) and chief risk officer at Aviva Europe. He led AIG’s employee benefits division in both the UK and Canada.
Qualifications and responsibilities
BComm (Hons) Actuarial and Management Sciences, University of Manitoba.
Qualified as a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.
Member of the board for ABI.
This article featured in the July/August 2023 edition of MM.
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