TLDR: Zurich Insurance Group has announced the strategic appointments of Terry Powell as Group Chief Technology Officer and Cristina Ghetti as Group Head of Digital Employee Experience, effective October 20, 2025. These hires are aimed at significantly accelerating the company’s digital transformation and enhancing its adoption of artificial intelligence across all operations.
Zurich Insurance Group is making a significant stride in its digital transformation journey by appointing two seasoned leaders with extensive experience in artificial intelligence (AI) from the retail and fintech sectors. Terry Powell has been named Group Chief Technology Officer, and Cristina Ghetti will assume the role of Group Head of Digital Employee Experience. Both appointments are effective October 20, 2025, and they will report directly to Ericson Chan, Zurich’s Group Chief Information & Digital Officer.
Ericson Chan expressed his enthusiasm for the new additions, stating, “I am thrilled to welcome Terry and Cristina to Zurich. Their extensive leadership in artificial intelligence in the retail and fintech space is precisely the expertise we need to accelerate our digital transformation and further drive AI-adoption. They bring a vital customer-centric approach that will significantly elevate the experience for both our customers and employees.” This statement underscores Zurich’s commitment to leveraging AI for both internal efficiency and improved customer interactions.
Terry Powell joins Zurich from ANZ Bank, where he was instrumental in leading IT services transformation and cloud adoption. His prior experience includes centralizing global IT and launching AI and digital initiatives to enhance customer experience at Domino’s Pizza, as well as simplifying core insurance systems as General Manager for Insurance Technology at Suncorp Group. In his new capacity at Zurich, Mr. Powell will be responsible for leading the group-wide technology strategy, integrating AI across the company’s infrastructure foundation, bolstering system resilience, and driving overall efficiency and productivity through AI.
Cristina Ghetti brings a wealth of expertise from Nestlé, where she spearheaded the sector’s largest AI-tool rollout and successfully integrated GPT-based tools for internal use. Her career also includes delivering a multi-year digital roadmap and leading post-merger IT integration at Coca-Cola European Partners. As Group Head of Digital Employee Experience, Ms. Ghetti will spearhead company-wide AI upskilling initiatives, empowering and equipping employees with AI tools, and driving AI adoption and productivity throughout the organization. This focus on internal AI capabilities is expected to foster a more AI-fluent workforce, enabling teams to apply these advanced tools responsibly and at speed.
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The strategic recruitment of leaders from customer-centric industries like retail and fintech signals Zurich’s intent to move beyond experimental AI projects to scaled, production-grade implementations across its core operations. The company has previously explored AI through initiatives like its Agentic AI Hyper Challenge, which generated over 200 prototypes. These new appointments mark a shift towards industrialization, focusing on clearer governance and measurable outcomes in areas such as claims processing (triage, severity prediction, fraud detection), underwriting (risk signals, pricing segmentation), billing, operations, and customer service. The goal is to achieve tighter operations, superior customer experiences, and a workforce adept at applying AI where it matters most.
