Top 15 life insurance executives: Chung Mikyung, Liza Jansen

AsianInvestor’s Top 15 Life Insurance Executives in Asia list highlights the individuals who stand out in driving the industry forward via steady investment processes, robust operations, sustainability measures, as well as advocacy for best practices and transparency.

The life insurance sector in the region has been growing rapidly, helped by a population of over four billion and rapidly growing economic clout.

Despite the immense potential, there are also challenges such as wide-ranging regulatory changes, slowing growth in life premiums in recent years and increasing demands for actions around sustainability and climate change, among others.

We believe it is important to recognise and credit the standout individuals who are making a difference and setting positive trends in such an important sector.

Read more about the rationale for our Top 15 list.

Today, we profile two senior executives, one based in South Korea and another in Malaysia.

Chung Mikyung
General Manager & Head of Investment Assessment, Shinhan Life Insurance

Chung Mikyung, appointed as head of investment assessment at Shinhan Life in 2024, brings wide-ranging expertise to Korea's third-largest life insurer at a pivotal time of transformation in the industry.

Her name on our Top 15 list is as a senior executive who is 'one to watch' as she attempts to rebalance the insurer's existing $36.8 billion (₩51 trillion) portfolio while reviewing new opportunities, especially in alternatives.

This comes against a backdrop of recent regulatory changes, including IFRS-9 and IFRS-17 standards for Korean insurers.

"These international accounting standards, implemented in Korea in 2023, require insurers to mark insurance liabilities at market value and introduce more stringent asset classification and measurement requirements.

"With regulatory uncertainties now resolved and alternative investment prices stabilising, we are moving to increase our overseas allocation and expand equity investments relative to loans," Chung told AsianInvestor.

Under Chung's leadership, the firm is actively refining its portfolio, focusing on reducing profit/loss volatility from the asset side, while strategically increasing allocations to private equity and private debt sectors.

Chung is also pursuing strategic partnerships with top-tier asset management companies through co-investment opportunities.

The firm's robust capital foundation is evidenced by its Korea Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS) ratio of 230% in the third quarter of 2024, well above the regulatory requirement of 150%.

K-ICS, Korea's risk-based capital framework implemented in 2023, determines insurers' ability to make equity investments and influences their investment flexibility.

"Shinhan Life's position allows us to pursue more diversified investments compared to our competitors," she said.

"We're creating a virtuous cycle by establishing precise core and satellite strategies aligned with specific risk-return profiles."

Chung's diverse experience across both general partner and limited partner roles will prove invaluable in her current role.

She has previously worked in key positions at Korea Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Management, KDB Life Insurance, and Mirae Asset Global Investments, where she led alternative investments for the National Housing and Urban Fund.

Aided by Chung’s guidance, Shinhan Life continues to adapt to new accounting standards while maintaining its focus on liquidity and long-term returns for its growing portfolio.

Liza Jansen
Head of Responsible Investment, Prudential plc

Liza Jansen has emerged as a leading advocate for responsible investment, especially in emerging markets (EMs).

Since becoming Prudential plc's head of responsible investment in 2022, she has championed sustainable investing and inclusive transition, emphasising transition finance and engagement as critical approaches for energy transition and decarbonisation in EMs.

Her high-profile industry presence includes regular speaking engagements and extensive interaction with Prudential's investee companies, peers, and industry players, skillfully leveraging the insurer's position as an asset owner.

“Prudential, as an operator in many of these emerging markets, is a local asset owner and our liabilities are often also denominated in local currency ... If we want to reach global net zero, we have to make sure emerging markets’ transition needs are catered for as well,” she told AsianInvestor back in 2022.

Jansen's move to Prudential from Dutch pension fund PGGM brought her extensive ESG expertise from Europe to Asia.

Since arriving in Hong Kong in 2020, she has developed deep insights into Asian economies and their transition challenges.

She moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2023 while remaining in close interaction with investment and ESG teams across the region, including Hong Kong and Singapore. 

She focuses on addressing gaps in global frameworks for EMs while promoting best practices through Prudential's influence.

The British insurer, which operates life insurance businesses in Asia and Africa, has pledged to become a net zero asset owner by 2050.

In its latest transition financing framework published in September, Prudential said it is increasing focus on climate-related engagement for its fixed income and alternative assets.

“Prudential is a pioneer among insurance asset owners in establishing a framework that recognises emerging market conditions, guiding investments critical for climate transition and accelerating the net-zero goal, while still delivering on our investment commitments to our shareholders and policyholders,” Jansen said at the time.

“[When it comes to engagement,] we think we should be focusing a lot more on debt financing, partly because the bond market is much larger than the equity market, so companies are financing themselves more through debt than through equity,” she told AsianInvestor.

The insurer has a target to deliver a 55% reduction in the carbon emissions intensity of its investment portfolio by 2030 against a 2019 baseline.

By the end of 2023, it had successfully reduced the weighted average carbon intensity (WACI) of its investment portfolio by 50% from the baseline.

It aims to engage with companies responsible for 65% of absolute emissions in its investment portfolio, including its alternative investments.

It also runs a private equity impact fund that focuses on environmental and social issues. It sees “significant opportunities” in blended finance in emerging markets in Asia and Africa.

Prudential has worked with the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) and published a paper in March 2023 that offers recommendations on climate-related engagement in emerging markets.

Jansen and Don Kanak, former chairman of Prudential Insurance Growth Markets, were key contributors to the paper, with Prudential leading the NZAOA's transition finance track. 

Tomorrow, we profile executives from New Zealand and The Philippines.