AA Insurance is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Gudsell as Chief Financial Officer
Peter joins AA Insurance from Southern Cross Healthcare, bringing extensive experience in financial leadership, governance, and strategic transformation across some of New Zealand’s most complex organisations.
Prior to his role at Southern Cross Healthcare, he served as Group CFO at Auckland Council, where he oversaw significant revenue and asset portfolios and engaged with a wide and diverse group of stakeholders across the Council Group. Earlier in his career, as CFO at the University of Auckland, he combined financial leadership with a strong emphasis on building an engaged and high performing team culture. Peter has also previously held senior finance leadership roles at Christchurch City Council, where he played a key role in resolving longstanding insurance matters following the Canterbury Earthquakes.
AA Insurance Chief Executive Officer, Michelle James, said: “We are delighted to welcome Peter to AA Insurance. His depth of experience in financial strategy, largescale transformation, and organisational leadership will be a valuable addition to the great work already underway and will support our continued focus on delivering outstanding outcomes for our customers, partners, and communities.”
Peter said he is excited to be joining AA Insurance at an important time for the business.
“AA Insurance has a strong reputation, a clear purpose, and an impressive track record of performance. I’m genuinely looking forward to contributing to the next chapter of the company’s growth and supporting its ongoing commitment to resilience and protecting what matters most for customers and their communities,” he said.
Peter will formally step into the CFO role on 24 March 2026.
About AA Insurance
AA Insurance is a New Zealand-based joint venture between Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited and the New Zealand Automobile Association Limited ('NZAA'). Vero is owned by Suncorp Group Limited, a listed Australian company. NZAA is an incorporated society that is governed by a National Council and Board. Since 1994 we have provided home, contents and car insurance in New Zealand and in 2018 we introduced small business insurance.
We underwrite our own policies and sell direct to New Zealanders. Our New Zealand-based teams looks after 560,000+ customers with more than 1,100,000 policies. S&P Global Ratings has given us an Insurer Financial Strength Rating of AA- (Very Strong).
We are consistently recognised in industry awards and honours, including being voted the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted General Insurer for 16 years running (since 2011) and named Canstar's 2024-2025 Outstanding Value Car Insurance winner. We have also been recognised in the Kantar Customer Leadership Index (since 2019) and the Kantar Corporate Reputation Index (since 2015) currently ranked 6th amongst 100 of New Zealand’s most successful companies.
Find out more at www.aainsurance.co.nz
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AA Insurance Media Team