Medibank seeks new CFO after executive shake-up

Medibank is on the hunt for a new chief financial officer as it tries to do more to impress customers.

Craig Drummond says Medibank needs to do a better job. Pic: Stuart McEvoy

Health insurance giant Medibank is on the hunt for a chief financial officer as new boss Craig Drummond shuffles his executive team.

Mr Drummond, who took on the chief executive role in July, today revealed a shake-up of his executive leadership team as he pushes the company (MPL) to refocus on customers ahead of his plan to reveal his strategy for the health insurer in November.

He said that the health insurer’s efforts to improve customer experience had fuelled the changes to his executive leadership team in an attempt to ensure that there was clear focus and accountability on delivering improved outcomes.

“We know as an organisation that we have to improve our engagement with our customers,” he said.

“We have a big agenda to deliver and in order to achieve this we need to have the right team in place with clear accountabilities. I am confident that the changes provide this focus and will drive better outcomes for our customers and the business.”

Mr Drummond revealed that after four years with Medibank, chief financial officer Paul Koppelman is leaving the company.

“As a result, we will commence an external search for a new CFO and while this process is conducted Tom Exton, group financial controller, will act in the role of CFO,” he said.

The Australian-listed company, which the government privatised almost two years’ ago, is seeking a new finance head as it fights the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over allegations of misleading customers and in a regulatory environment calling for increased transparency and softening membership growth.

Mr Drummond said at the release of the company’s financial results last week that customer feedback had given Medibank a clear message that it needed to do a better job.

To prove his focus on customers, he has tied executives’ financial rewards to customer ­satisfaction.

The executive leadership changes see David Koczkar assume the role of group executive chief customer officer and Andrew Wilson, group executive provider networks and integrated care, will now also be accountable for Medibank’s strategy and innovation.

Mei Ramsay, company secretary, has been appointed to the executive leadership team as group executive legal, governance and regulatory affairs. Her portfolio will now also include compliance and regulatory affairs.

The company had also announced last month that former Sportsbet technology head John Goodall would join the company as group executive technology and operations.