AIA Singapore triumphs at Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards 2025 for strategic leadership and insurance innovation

Penny Koo, as well as AIA Singapore’s Legal and Corporate Secretarial team, prove to be a critical strategic force behind the company’s innovations and market leadership.

AIA Singapore was lauded with both the coveted Executive of the Year and the Team of the Year awards under the insurance category at the prestigious Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards 2025. These accolades underscore AIA Singapore's transformative legal leadership and the team's strategic role in driving business growth, accelerating digitalisation, and upholding governance excellence, all aligned with AIA's purpose of enabling people to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

Penny Koo, General Counsel and Company Secretary, AIA Singapore, stands as a visionary leader who challenged the traditional boundaries of legal counsel, transforming her team into a pivotal strategic partner and innovation driver within AIA Singapore.

Under her expert guidance and diligence from her team, legal and governance expertise is an integrated force within the company's digital transformation initiatives. A prime example of this pioneering spirit is the development and launch of a fully digital legal matters and contract life cycle management platform, complete with automated triaging and a self-serve. Senior Counsel Shareen Tan was a key driver in this initiative, providing critical counsel and championing the implementation of digital solutions. This ground-breaking initiative not only streamlines operational efficiency but also distinguishes Singapore as the first market across AIA Group’s 18 territories to roll out such an advanced legal service delivery platform.

Furthermore, Penny’s oversight ensures the legal integrity of critical digital applications such as AIA+ (which serves over 1 million users), directly underpinning AIA Singapore’s impressive business performance.

Koo and her team were also a key support in AIA Singapore’s strategic pivot into the high-growth High-Net-Worth (HNW) market. They oversaw the legal complexities of the 2024 launch of AIA International Wealth and the AIA Wealth Centre, navigating extensive multi-jurisdictional due diligence, engaging with Group Risk to expand existing frameworks for offshore sales, and advocating with multiple regulators to develop bespoke contractual templates.

The Legal and Corporate Secretarial team, a lean but incredibly powerful group of 13 supporting over 1,200 employees, has also consistently demonstrated their dual role as both gatekeeper and growth driver. Their strategic oversight spans compliance, data management, and governance, driven by a commitment to digitisation and the principle of "faster, simpler, more connected."

Beyond the digital contract platform, the team actively contributes to shaping strategic business initiatives through an "upstream approach," providing robust risk assessments and recommendations that guide informed decision-making. They have expanded their expertise beyond traditional insurance law, developing capabilities across multiple domains, including successfully managing complex, contentious matters and crisis situations.

Their commendable dedication to fostering a strong governance culture within a diverse and inclusive environment, coupled with their pursuit of sound and practical solutions, are testaments to their contributions toward AIA Singapore's sustained success and market leadership. The success of AIA Singapore’s legal team is a clear affirmation of the company's unwavering dedication to innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership in transforming the life insurance industry in Singapore.

The Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards honour visionary executives, innovators, and high-performing teams, as well as initiatives that champion diversity, inclusion, employee engagement, and workplace well-being.

The Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards is presented by Singapore Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to know more about the awards programme, you may contact Julie Anne Nuñez-Difuntorum at (+65) 3158 1386 ext. 221 or [email protected].