Career Advice Successful High flyers’ story

Paul Groves, chief marketing officer, Asia-Pacific for Allianz, has worn many hats in his career, first in banking and now in insurance

In the insurance sector, there are all kinds of routes to the summit, and the path taken by Paul Groves neatly proves the point.

Now chief marketing officer in the Asia-Pacific region for industry titan

Allianz, his brief is to build the brand by enhancing customer engagement, developing growth strategies, and driving digital and social media innovation.

In essence, it is a chance to modernise and innovate, which calls for new and non-traditional forms of marketing plus an acute sense of what clients will want – and are going to need – in future.

“The fusion of technology and data is irrevocably changing the way insurance works,” Groves says. “The model is no longer just ‘you pay the premium, we pay the claim’. Therefore, we must be at the forefront to understand the evolution in areas like healthcare and genetics and enable customers to get what they want. It is an interesting and exciting time, and I feel very lucky to be part of it.” His early career dreams, though, focused on a very different field. From the age of nine, his heart was set on being a footballer for local club Leeds United, which at the time was a regular trophy winner and among the best in Europe.

Groves turned out in midfield for a junior “feeder” team and had genuine hopes of making it as a pro. But then, as for many young players, the day of reckoning came.

“There were talks about contracts, but you know what good is when you see it and, at 16, I realised I wasn’t good enough,” he says. “I was released and had to tell my dad I wouldn’t be going back or getting paid as an apprentice professional. That was tough.”

His father was originally a plasterer but, worried by the boom-and-bust nature of the construction trade, switched to a steadier job in the tanker bay at Tetley’s brewery. His mother, meanwhile, had her hands full looking after the family of four kids. And, facing up to reality, Groves knuckled down, completed his A-levels, and left school to find work.

“I came from quite a poor background, though it didn’t feel like that at the time,” he says. “I remember, though, in the early Thatcher years, one in 10 of my age group was unemployed, so it was almost a panic to find any kind of job.” As a result, he jumped at an offer from Barclays International, joining in 1980. The company was a big name, known to run a sound operation and, importantly for Groves, paid well and had the word “international” in the title.

“I had a bit of wanderlust, wanted to get out of my hometown, and thought this was a chance to see the world.”

In practice, it meant a move to Poole, on England’s south coast, assigned to a brand-new division handling traveller’s cheques. Within a year, the team grew to 200-strong and, as Groves soon realised, was a great introduction to the marketing side of banking and finance.

Once settled, he knocked off the requisite diplomas via evening classes at what is now Bournemouth University and played part-time football as a way of making friends in the broader community.

On the work front, he prospered. Promotion led to spells in retail banking, credit card operations and elsewhere, offering variety and constant challenge during a time of expansion for the bank and massive change for the whole industry.

“I progressed into really good roles,” Groves says. “I liked marketing – and still do – because it gets you close to the customer.”

Even so, after 27 years with Barclays, he decided to leave. Basically, he felt the culture had changed. New people had come in from different banks, and the approach had become a little more transactional.

“I realised it was now out of sync with my own values,” he says. “I just felt I’d been there long enough and it was better to move on to move up.”

For that reason, he joined insurance firm AIG – six months before the financial crisis hit. Working in London and New York, he unwittingly found himself rather too close to the centre of the storm.

“It was a difficult time, fighting for survival. But I saw what it takes to make a business run when facing very tough decisions.”

Relief came, though, with the invitation to set up a marketing team for AIG’s life insurance affiliate Alico, which had operations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. And when a corporate realignment in 2010 saw the sale of Alico and the successful listing of AIA Group in Hong Kong, he was in pole position to join the latter as chief marketing officer.

“That has been a theme in my career,” he says, “I’m at my best when joining new ventures and building teams.”

The specific challenge was to put the marketing function on more of a business footing, beyond just communications and PR. It included rebranding the firm, exploring analytics and digital platforms, and striking a shirt sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur.

Since the switch to Allianz in 2016, the focus has been on promoting concepts like insurance on demand, claims via mobile devices, and an “explorer” programme to cover businesses and individuals taking new types of risk.

On a personal level, Groves gets satisfaction these days from coaching colleagues and sharing advice on how to impress.

“Don’t be afraid of making mistakes; just don’t make the same mistake twice,” he says. “Also, be yourself; don’t try to have a ‘work persona’. The most effective people are those who show complete authenticity and are flexible.”