Top 15 life insurance executives: Mark Konyn, Ajit Banerjee

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 Hong Kong and another in India.

Mark Konyn
Group Chief Investment Officer, AIA

Mark Konyn, a very well-known name in Asia’s insurance industry, has been leading AIA’s investment portfolio since 2015.

Industry insiders credit Konyn for his visionary leadership, especially on sustainability.

“Mark Konyn, given the scale and scope of what he runs across all of the jurisdictions…and yet being at the real forefront of sustainability and having a very clear outlook and destination for where he wants to take the portfolio in terms of decarbonation, he is a market leader for sure,” a senior Asia-Pacific executive at a leading global insurance asset manager told AsianInvestor.

AIA’s insurance business spans 18 markets across the Asia Pacific, with home market Hong Kong being the largest.

It is also a pioneer in sustainable investing. All of its general account investments are matched against its in-house ESG rating scorecard. It has invested about $6.3 billion in green, social, and sustainable bonds.

As a leading asset owner in Asia, AIA’s investment and approach to ESG and sustainable investing is a significant driving force of the region’s green finance and energy transition.

“The journey towards responsible and sustainable investments starts with exclusions, and we then quickly get on the front foot and start to look for opportunities for active investments with influence on creating incentives and change,” Konyn told AsianInvestor this year.

In November 2023, AIA released its first climate transition plan, setting near-term and long-term decarbonisation targets for its investment portfolio validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

It is among the first Asian insurers to specify goals for decarbonising investments in key sectors such as power generation and real estate.

Long-term investors with sustainability at the centre of their business model are more likely to persevere and achieve sustainable outcomes, noted Konyn.

“We work with our investee companies, whether they are energy producers, oil and gas companies, or innovative technology companies, to give them the encouragement to come to the market with investment opportunities where we can participate.

"And we particularly want to be involved in projects and initiatives that throw off long-dated opportunities to mitigate climate change,” he said.

It also works with partners such as LeapFrog Investments, a UK-based impact investor that invests in high-growth financial services, healthcare, and climate solutions companies in Asia and Africa.

The insurer has undertaken several efforts to improve internal systems and processes in a bid to improve investment decision-making.

In July, AIA announced its tie-up with BlackRock and BNY for an integrated data management system across front and back offices to enhance its portfolio management capabilities.

“With the solutions we are implementing, AIA will gain a single, consistent, and timely view across all asset classes allowing us to make even more informed investments across complex market environments,” Konyn said at the time.

“As we work with BlackRock and BNY to transform our platform, AIA will continue managing our growing investment portfolio at greater scale to meet our performance, risk management and sustainable investment goals,” he added.

Ajit Banerjee
President and Chief Investment Officer, Shriram Life Insurance

Ajit Banerjee leads investments at Shriram Life Insurance, one of India's rapidly growing private-sector life insurers.

A joint venture between India’s Shriram group and South Africa’s Sanlam group, the insurer has the distinction of being profitable every year since its inception in 2005.

Betting on India’s insurance growth potential - the world's ninth-largest life insurance market -- the South African financial services giant earlier this year raised its stake in the Shriram Life Insurance to 54.4% from 42.38% previously.

Another interesting fact is that one of its key business goals offering life insurance to rural India, adding a strong social component to its business.

Helping the company along this journey is Banerjee, a known name in the industry, who makes frequent appearances in the media to comment on topics ranging from economic growth to the sector’s adoption of private market assets.

“Portfolio management of an insurance company requires an optimum mix of skill sets from both fund management and risk management,” Banerjee told AsianInvestor when asked about what motivates him about his role.

“Since insurers have to manage funds to ensure they match liabilities to assets, as an investment professional, “we need to understand the underlying liability profile of the fund, value of new business margin, the solvency impact on the business the fund makes before taking the investment decision,” he said.

“This aspect of connecting all the dots and a comprehensive assessment of portfolio management keeps us motivated to be vigilant on a constant basis.”

“Striking a fine balance between maintaining the ALM [asset liability management] requirement and portfolio yield is a continuous challenge which I enjoy,” he added.

Shriram Life Insurance’s investments are predominantly fixed-income oriented (about 93%).

Banerjee's team decides on the asset allocation framework, which is jointly developed with the appointed actuary and chief risk officer.

The investment team, based on its analysis of the economy, geopolitics, monetary and fiscal policy, determines the exposure quantum and pattern for various asset classes, such as debt, equity, alternatives, mutual funds, etc. permitted within regulatory investment norms.

Like most insurers, Shriram Life Insurance is cautiously exploring investment opportunities outside of conventional bonds and stocks.

These include bond derivatives, alternative investment funds, real estate investment trusts and infrastructure investment trusts, Banerjee told AsianInvestor earlier this year.

He is optimistic about growth over the medium term.

“India is presently in a Goldilocks situation – we continue to grow at the fastest rate among the major economies of the world, with inflation levels largely under control,” he said.

He expects 10-year government bonds to range around 6.50%-6.60% range by March-end 2025 and equities to rally further, despite periodic bouts of volatility.

In a market dominated by public-sector players, AsianInvestor believes that Shriram Life Insurance – and Banerjee – will be key players to watch as the sector gears up for future growth.

Tomorrow, we profile senior executives from Indonesia and Japan.