TAL Board appoints David Cohen as Chair and Annette King as a Non-Executive Director

Australian life insurer TAL has announced the appointment of experienced financial services executives and directors David Cohen and Annette King to the company’s Board.

Mr Cohen will join the Board on 1 April 2025, assuming the role of Chair from 8 May, replacing Mark Joiner, who stood down from the position in late 2024. Ms King joined the Board as Independent Non-Executive Director in December 2024.

Mr Cohen spent 16 years at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, latterly as Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Prior to CBA, he was General Counsel at AMP and a partner at a national law firm.

“I’m delighted to be joining the TAL Board and working with CEO Fiona Macgregor and the executive team. TAL is a great Australian business and I look forward to helping guide its future, for the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Mr Cohen.

Ms King is a former life insurance CEO and past President of the Actuaries Institute in Australia, with extensive experience as a Non-Executive Director.

“Life insurance plays a crucial role in protecting the financial security of Australians. I look forward to contributing to this next phase of TAL’s journey and its focus on customer leadership,” said Ms King. Interim Board Chair Christine Bartlett welcomed the appointments, saying, “David and Annette both bring significant contemporary experience in transformation and growth to the TAL Board.

“As our new Chair, we welcome David’s strong emphasis on customer, culture and risk.

“On behalf of the TAL Board and executive team, I thank Mark Joiner for his leadership of the Board since June 2022 through a period of significant growth and change.”

About David Cohen

David has over 21 years’ experience in financial services and was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) from November 2018 to December 2023. As Deputy CEO, David oversaw business divestments, supervised mergers and acquisitions, and progressed customer complaint resolution and remediation. 

Prior to this role, David was Group General Counsel, Group Executive Human Resources, Group Executive Corporate Affairs and Chief Risk Officer at CBA. David’s roles prior to joining CBA include General Counsel at AMP and a Partner at Allens Arthur Robinson.

David was recently appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director of Westpac and is a Panel Member at independent corporate advisory firm Adara Partners.

David holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney.

About Annette King

Annette is an actuary with over 30 years’ experience as a company director, CEO, CFO and CMO of significant financial institutions in Australia and Asia-Pacific, including Swiss Re, AXA, Manulife and Mercer.

Annette has deep experience in insurance, wealth management, superannuation, investments and broader financial services - particularly growing and transforming businesses through differentiated client/member experience, organisational culture, and innovation via data, digital and technology enablement.

Previously, Annette was a Non-Executive Director of MLC Super, a past President and Chair of the Actuaries Institute in Australia and also served as President and Chair of the Life Insurance Association of Singapore. She is a member of Chief Executive Women.

Annette is currently an independent Non-Executive Director of HCF, Australian Finance Group and U Ethical Investors.