Our Executive Team

Michelle James

Chief Executive Officer, AA Insurance

Michelle is responsible for leading AA Insurance to its next level of success, building on our customer centric culture and shared vision to earn the trust of every New Zealander by protecting what matters most. Michelle has 20 years’ experience in executive and senior leadership roles on both sides of the Tasman, specialising in transformation and the creation of innovative customer and digital experiences.

Michelle has held a number of executive portfolios at Tower and was an executive of Spark Digital. During her 12 years in Australia, Michelle held several senior customer and product leadership roles at Telstra Corporation, leading significant cross company transformation and simplification programmes.

Martin Chisholm

Chief Finance Officer, AA Insurance

Martin is responsible for the finance, risk, customer resolution and corporate and regulatory affairs functions at AA Insurance, including managing relationships with our bank, investment and reinsurance advisors and partners.

Martin has over 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry. He started his career in the audit practise of Coopers & Lybrand in London, before progressing to Senior Audit Manager in its Auckland and Sydney offices. Prior to joining AA Insurance, Martin held finance and project roles at PetPlan Insurance, Royal & Sun Alliance, Zespri, GE Insurance in the UK, and GE Money in New Zealand. He joined AA Insurance as Finance Manager in 2007, before being appointed as Chief Finance Officer in 2011.

Martin is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Mark Daniels

Chief Transformation Officer, AA Insurance

Mark is responsible for overseeing AA Insurance’s Transformation programme that will deliver fit-for-future business and technology capabilities to enable AA Insurance to achieve its strategic goals.

Mark has over 14 years’ experience in the New Zealand insurance industry, holding positions across Marketing, Distribution, Operations and Transformation. Mark is an experienced executive who is passionate about translating strategy into transformative action, building customer centric organisations, and unlocking the potential of our people.

At an industry level, Mark spent several years as a member of multiple committees within the Financial Services Council and in 2017 won the FSC Rising Star Award.

Simon Hobbs

Chief Operating Officer, AA Insurance

Simon leads the company’s drive to give customers superior insurance protection and an excellent experience at claims time. He has spent over 25 years in the New Zealand insurance industry.

He first joined AA Insurance in 1997 as part of the company’s graduate programme, starting in customer service before working in a variety of roles within the company including Innovation, Pricing, Planning and Analysis, and Claims. Simon became our Chief Operating Officer in 2020 and spent over 12 months as our Acting CEO in 2022-2023.

Vanessa Leishman

Chief Risk Officer, AA Insurance

Vanessa provides risk support and oversight for AA Insurance. She is accountable for second line of defence risk-related accountabilities including risk, compliance, quality assurance, internal fraud and regulatory affairs.

Vanessa is an experienced enterprise leader with 20+ years of experience in risk management leadership. She has expertise in a range of sectors, including Financial Services, Media and Telecommunications. She has worked across all three lines of defence and brings a wealth of multi-sector experience, having also held roles at ASB, ANZ, Fairfax Media, Spark New Zealand and PWC.

Vanessa is regarded for taking an enterprise view, balancing risk with financial, customer and people outcomes, and communicating effectively with stakeholders to build buy-in and trust. She is a values-driven leader, with a reputation for building high performing and engaged teams.

Angela Nash

Chief Information Officer, AA Insurance

Angela is responsible for AA Insurance's Digital, Data & Technology teams to create more great experiences for our customers now and into the future.

Angela is an experienced and accomplished Technology Executive who has led companies through significant technology and transformation change. She was previously the Chief Information & Technology Officer for NZ Rugby, and has worked in several executive technology and leadership roles for companies including Spark, Datacom, QualIT and REANNZ.

In addition to her professional experience, Angela is currently a Future Director for Kordia, and an active member of the NZTech Leaders Executive, Business Mentors Org and the Institute of Directors. In 2023, she was awarded the IDC & Brightstar CIO of the Year.

Shaun Rees

Chief Product & Marketing Officer, AA Insurance

Shaun oversees AA Insurance’s brand and customer-focused activities. His responsibilities include product, portfolio and pricing, customer communications and experience, marketing and brand.

Shaun has a wealth of experience as a senior executive and business adviser focused on delivering great experiences and outcomes for customers, stakeholders and communities. He has held a number of GM roles at Genesis Energy across customer, digital and delivery. Prior to Genesis, Shaun spent many years in Financial Services including 13 years at ANZ. He has also gained experience through shareholder advisory and board assignments, focusing on new business ventures, sustainability, and innovation.

Paula Williams

Chief People Officer, AA Insurance

Paula is responsible for people and capability including organisational development, health and wellbeing, performance, and talent acquisition at AA Insurance. Paula and her team foster a diverse and inclusive workforce, focussing on lifting performance while building strong leaders and a culture where everyone can thrive.

Paula is an experienced executive leader with a career spanning over 20 years in people, culture and communications roles. She has expertise across a range of sectors including banking, insurance, aviation, legal, media, technology, government and not for profit.

With an executive coaching background, Paula is highly experienced in senior stakeholder management while supporting teams to deliver innovative solutions that support business goals.