AMA Group has announced several management changes that will take effect at the conclusion of the 2018 Annual General Meeting to be held on 22 November.
Andy Hopkins will become Group Chief Executive Officer while Anthony Day will join the board as an independent Non-Executive Director. Ray Malone will continue as Chairman.
AMA described Day as one of Australia’s leading insurance industry executives who has more than 30 years of industry experience. Day was recently the Chief Executive Officer of Suncorp Group’s Insurance Operations, one of Australia’s largest insurance businesses. In that role, he had responsibility for both the Group’s General and Life Insurance operations within Australia which incorporate AAMI, GIO, Vero, Shannons and Asteron.
Hopkins said AMA is very fortunate to have Day join its Board of Directors.
“His level of understanding of our key insurance company customers’ service needs is without peer. We look forward to being able to utilise his knowledge in our business to deliver better outcomes for our customers”.
The company has also appointed Steven Becker as Group Chief Financial Officer following the resignation of Ashley Killick. Becker has spent the past two years as the Chief Financial Officer of Affinity Education Group. Prior to that, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the formerly ASX-listed Mantra Group for eight years.
AMA Group says Becker has extensive experience in high growth organisations providing financial and strategic leadership. He will be based in South-East Queensland with the finance teams and commence with the company in early February 2019.
In the interim, the Chief Financial Officer role will be performed by AMA Company Secretary and financial accountant, Terri Bakos, and the General Managers of Finance in the Panel Repair and ACAD businesses.
Malone said the changes mark an important milestone in the development of AMA Group.
“In a little over six years, the business has grown from a small troubled aggregation of automobile related businesses to Australia’s leading automobile panel repair and aftermarket parts operator. It has been my pleasure to lead the business through this stage of its development.
“The business has now reached a size that it requires a more traditional governance structure and the addition of new talent to the executive management team and Board of Directors to ensure that the next six years are equally as successful. Mr Hopkins has been my partner in growing the panel repair business over the last three years and he is ideally suited to succeed me as Group Chief Executive Officer. In this role, he will rely heavily, as I have for the last six years, on Mr [Ray] Smith-Roberts to continue his exceptional leadership of the ACAD business. Together, they will ensure AMA Group realises the significant market opportunities before it.”
Hopkins responded by saying: “Mr Malone has done an amazing job leading the creation of a truly market leading business over the last six years. It has been my pleasure to work closely with him for the last three years and over that time I have never ceased to be amazed by his entrepreneurial skills and innovative approaches to problem solving which have added very significant value to the business. I look forward to continuing to work closely with him as Chairman and head of the procurement business. The procurement business of AMA is an area of significant potential growth for AMA and I look forward to working with Mr Malone in growing that business.”
According to AMA’s latest annual report, revenue grew by 33 per cent to more than A$509 million, up from A$382 million in the previous year. The group completed 26 acquisitions, integrated 30 new facilities, and opened four new greenfield sites, taking the total number of facilities to 114.
AMA Group has also corrected an article in “The Australian” which asserted that AMA is “teaming up with Blackstone to form an offer for Suncorp’s Smash Repairs Group, Capital SMART”.
In a statement, AMA said the suggestion is incorrect. “AMA is not teaming up with Blackstone to make any offer for the Capital SMART business,” the statement read.
“Further, AMA’s announcement that Mr Anthony Day will be joining the board of AMA after the AGM has no connection with Suncorp selling the Capital SMART business. Mr Day will be joining the board due to his excellent credentials and experience in the insurance industry in Australia, AMA’s core customer group. The board of AMA believes that Mr Day will make a valuable contribution to the board.”