Career
Educated at the University of Waikato, Wilson joined National Mutual, an insurance business based in New Zealand in 1987 and progressed through the management structure. He became chief executive of AXA Investment Managers South East Asia in 2001, chief executive of AXA Investment Managers Hong Kong in 2003 and chief executive of American Institute of Architects in March 2009. He went on to become chief executive officer (Chief Executive Officer) of Aviva on 1 January 2013.
Wilson has written about various issues including putting the brakes on compensation culture, tackling Britain"s retirement savings inertia and ensuring everyone plays their part to keep the flood threat at bay.
On 25 September 2015 Wilson joined 193 world leaders to commit to the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations in New New York Wilson was named in the 2016 Debrett’s list of Britain’s 500 most influential people, a group of individuals who have influenced or made a difference to British society.
He was included in this year’s list for his role in returning the British insurer to profit and finalising the £5.6bn acquisition of Friends Life, the largest takeover in the insurance sector in nearly 15 years. The merger turned Aviva into one of the United Kingdom’s largest investors managing £300bn-plus in assets.