Australian Life Insurance

About our people

Australian Life Insurance is managed by individuals who have considerable experience in the financial services industry with extensive expertise in insurance and its distribution in lending environments.

The Board includes directors with a wealth of experience in financial services. Short biographies on each director and key management are set out below.

Alan Schwartz - Non Executive Chairman

Over the past 25 years Alan has created, built, managed and sold a number of successful publishing, software and services businesses. He is once again in the "create" part of the entrepreneurial cycle, looking for new opportunities to create value for customers, employees and shareholders. He has held a number of senior Board positions with Not-for-profit organisations. Alan is a graduate of Monash University with degrees in Law (Honours) and Economics. He is the author of an Economics textbook – published whilst he was a University student. Alan is a graduate of the Williamson Community Leadership program. He was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003, and an Order of Australia (AM) in 2007 for his work at Jewish Care Inc., for establishing SEAL Force, and for business. Alan is married with 4 children.

Huy Truong - Non Executive Director

Huy has a diverse business and financial services background beginning his professional career at the Boston Consulting Group and then JP Morgan. In 1999. Huy became the founding CEO of Wishlist Holdings, an e-commerce company that he still Chairs today. Huy then became the Chief Executive of a $200m paper business within Carter Holt Harvey that was sold as part of a broader $850m transaction. After that, Huy become CEO of Jurlique International, a health and beauty company with operations in Australia, US and Asia. Prior to co-founding Yarra Capital Partners, Huy was a Venture Partner with CHAMP Ventures, a leading Sydney based mid market PE fund manager. Huy has been involved with a number of community organizations including on the board of Asialink and the Leadership Council of White Lion. Huy has an Economics Honours Degree from Monash University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Huy is married with 3 children.

Russel Pillemer - Non Executive Director

Russel is a director and CEO of Pengana Capital Pty Ltd, a boutique funds management business and also a director of Centrestone Wealth Advisers. Russel was formerly Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co based in New York specialising in mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings and the provision of general strategic advice to a wide range of financial institutions including finance companies, banks, life and general insurers. Prior to this he had responsibility for leading Goldman Sachs’ financial institutions efforts in Australia.

Keith Cohen - Managing Director and CEO

Since 2002, Keith has been Managing Director of the Australian Life Insurance group of companies. He was previously Principal Executive Officer, Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited, and a Director of various Westpac companies. Keith is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (London) and also a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Brian Pillemer - Executive Director and Head of Distribution

Since 2002, Brian has been Head of Distribution for Australian Life Insurance. Prior to then he worked at Westpac Banking Corporation since 1983. He held various senior positions at Westpac including National Manager Business Development for Westpac Insurance responsible for the sales of insurance products and was also a director of various Westpac companies.

Jenny Andrews - Chief Financial Officer & Chief Actuary

Since 2003, Jenny has been Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary for Australian Life Insurance. Jenny has had over 15 years experience in the life insurance and superannuation industry, having held various senior positions in large financial services institutions. Jenny is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Harvey Light - Head of IT and Administration Services

Since 2002, Harvey has been Head of IT and Administration Services for Australian Life Insurance. Harvey is an IT professional, with over 25 years of experience. He has had extensive experience in the insurance industry gained at companies including Allianz, HIH and BMA.

Malcolm McCool - Head of Legal & Compliance

Since 2002, Malcolm has been Company Secretary and Head of Legal and Compliance for Australian Life Insurance. He previously held various senior legal roles at Westpac Banking Corporation and Citibank specialising in financial services and insurance. Malcolm led Westpac’s response to the new regulatory environment in which ALI also operates and had significant involvement with ASIC, Treasury and various Industry bodies during the development of the legislation.

Robert King – Head of Corporate Development & Marketing

Over the past 25 years Rob has held senior roles with a number of organisations in the UK and Australia within the retail financial services market, including HSBC, Citibank and Rothschild. He has acquired extensive experience in banking, asset finance, retail financial services and wealth management, primarily in the areas of sales, marketing & communications, distribution and product management. Rob has a Mathematics & Physics Honours degree from the University of London and an MBA from the Cranfield School of Management.