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Enoch Yiu

The global financial crisis was a nightmare for countless executives around the world, but Mark Tucker,  the new boss of insurance giant AIA, claims he never lost a wink of sleep.
In fact, the 52-year-old insurer claims the only thing that interferes with his sleep is when his beloved Chelsea Football Club is in trouble or has a tough fixture.
Tucker has adopted the same loyalty, passion and discipline to career and sport. He insists on only talking about his current job at AIA - he was appointed  last month - and not about his old firm Prudential, where he had spent almost 25 years. 
'This interview is about AIA. This is about the future, not  the past,' he said.
He certainly has a busy time ahead. 
The top priority is to lead a smooth initial public offering of AIA, the largest  insurer in Asia with 23 million customers. Brokers expect the IPO will raise about US$20 billion.
 The firm's troubled parent, American International Group, last month announced it would go ahead with the listing to fund the repayment  a US$182 billion bailout  by the US government amid the global financial crisis in September 2008. 
At the same time, the group announced Tucker would replace Mark Wilson as executive chairman and chief executive of its pan-Asian life insurance unit AIA. The appointment is still pending regulatory approval.
Ironically Tucker until September last year was chief executive of Prudential, which in March offered US$35.5 billion to take over AIA. The deal was scrapped in June as it failed to get shareholders' support.
Tucker is new to AIA but is well-known as the executive who expanded Prudential from a small insurance company with only a few hundred staff in Asia in the late 1980s to become the second-largest insurer in the region when he left the company to join Halifax Bank of Scotland in 2003. He returned to become global chief executive of Prudential in 2005.
For a man who has shone in the industry Tucker's background is far removed from the sector. His father was a doctor and the family can trace their roots to South Africa.
Born and raised in London, Tucker started his career at 17 as a  trainee footballer. He played professional football for Barnet, Rochdale and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But the business world soon beckoned. He trained to be an accountant and tax specialist, which he believed would be a stepping stone into the corporate sector. 'I like working in the business world and I like working with people,' he said.
After qualifying as an accountant, he became a banker before joining the investment team at Prudential, later shifting to  the management side.
In the 1980s, he received an opportunity to come to Asia. 'I was personal assistant of the group chief executive, Mick Newmarch, at that time and he had a great vision in Asia. He sent me to expand the Asian business of Prudential on his behalf,' Tucker said.
The rest is history.  
Some analysts speculate that Tucker will use the funds from AIA's IPO to bid for Prudential, his troubled former employer. But Tucker  said he was more interested in expanding AIA through organic growth instead of through acquisitions.
AIA, which traces its  roots back 90 years to Shanghai, has a network of 320,000 agents in 15 markets covering 23 million policy holders. It is  the largest insurer in Hong Kong with a market share of 16 per cent, more than two million policies and 8,000 agents. 
Why did you join AIA?
 I got a call from AIG chief executive Robert Benmosche. This was a unique opportunity to come back to Asia and to lead AIA. Both my family and I view Hong Kong as home and we are excited to be back here. 
 Most funds raised will be used to pay back US taxpayers instead of financing the  expansion of AIA. Why should investors put their money into it?
AIA has a big team of agents, a solid customer base and market position. The listing is an incredible opportunity for investors to have exposure to an insurance company with such a scale. The market penetration of insurance in Asia is still low so there is a lot of room to grow.
 Some say AIA wants to make a bid for Prudential under your leadership. Is that true?
 My focus will be on organic growth instead of acquisitions. AIA has a strong agency team and we have operated in many markets in Asia. We can grow further organically with such a solid foundation.
 There were 2,000 policyholders who  surrendered their AIA policies amid the crisis in September 2008. Has the company lost more customers?
In the past weeks since I have joined AIA, I am impressed at the quality of the agency force and staff who have successfully retained customers. The persistency rate, the ratio of policy retention, had had no material change in the past six to nine months. Overall, the business is as normal as it was before the crisis.
AIA is the biggest Asian insurer but can its  leading position  last  in the light of the many up and coming mainland insurers? 
China Life and Ping An Insurance are very big domestic players in China. But AIA has an international network  in 15 markets in Asia. AIA was first established in Shanghai in 1917, and it was the first foreign insurer to return to  the mainland in the early 1990s. We are profitable on the mainland and we are going to expand further in the country.
What is your overall expansion plan in Asia?
We would develop into different markets and products as well as expand different distributing channels. China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia are all emerging insurance markets with high growth opportunities. The young customers would like to have regular saving products with life insurance protection while retired customers want us to manage their pension plans. Asia is the world's fastest growing insurance market, that is for sure. 
Is there a culture shock joining AIA after 25 years with Prudential? 
There are many similarities between AIA and Prudential. Both have a large scale of business and agency force. I feel I am welcomed by the AIA staff.
How do you compare the current crisis with the former ones? What lessons can we learn from the crisis?
The latest financial crisis is of global scale -  the worst for many Western countries. For Asia, we have passed through the 1997-98  financial crisis and Sars in 2003, which were worse. Overall, Asian markets were less affected by the recent global financial crisis than the Western markets.
The lesson to learn is to expect the unexpected. We should be careful about making sure the economic fundamentals are solid and not too overleveraged. Both companies and individuals should have the financial discipline not to take too high a risk.
Do you have a lot of policies for the protection of your family and for investment purposes?
I do but I could not give you a number. I am a great believer in insurance products, which are a good long-term savings vehicle allowing you to access equity and bond markets. 
Do you have any hobbies? 
I am very passionate about football. I am a fan of Chelsea Football Club for many years. I went to South Africa to watch England play in the World Cup.
Giant scale
AIA, which operates in  15 markets, traces its roots to Shanghai in 1917 
The largest insurer in Asia has  a network of 320,000 agents  and its policy holders number: 23m



AIA chief keeps his eye on the ball