Hilary Bates

Ms. Hilary Bates is a Chief Operating Officer at Zurich Investment Management Ltd. and a Chairman at The Australian & New Zealand Institute of Insurance & Finance.
She was appointed Chief Operating Officer, Australia & New Zealand in May 2022 including accountability for Zurich’s Life & Investments business in Australia and Zurich’s General Insurance business in Australia and New Zealand.
In this role, Hilary leads a team of professionals that are dedicated to delivering operational excellence, outstanding customer service and technology solutions.
She first joined Zurich in August 2016.
Throughout her career, Hilary has held senior management roles with a track record of delivering on customer, people, operational, financial and transformation objectives.
She started her career in private practice working within insurance, risk management and litigation practice groups, before moving to work directly in insurance in 2004.
She worked in the USA for seven years gaining valuable and varied experience across complex claims and senior claims management roles, before returning to Australia in 2013.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Archaeology), Bachelor of Laws (Honours), and Master of Laws from the University of Sydney and is admitted to practice law in New South Wales.