Naomi Ballantyne

Ballantyne in 2017

Naomi Eunice Ballantyne ONZM is a New Zealand insurance executive.[1]

Biography

Ballantyne grew up in Glenfield on Auckland's North Shore with four brothers; her father was from Canada and her mother from Tonga.[1] She began studying marine biology at university but did not continue with the degree. At the age of 19, she instead took a position as a trainee in an insurance company.[2]

Ballantyne was a founding employee of Sovereign Insurance, and rose to become the company's chief operating officer. She left the company after it was sold to ASB Bank in 2001.[3] She then founded Club Life, an insurance company now called OnePath LIfe, which she sold to ING in 2009. In 2011, she established Partners Life, and sold this in 2022 to Japanese life insurer Dai-ichi Life for $1 billion.[1][2][3] In 2024, she retired from Partners Life.[4]

In the 2017 New Year Honours, Ballantyne was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the insurance industry.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Naomi Ballantyne | The Icon Of New Zealand Life Insurance". Verve Magazine. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Partners Life founder: From growing up poor to selling her business for $1 billion". The New Zealand Herald. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b Meredith, Courtney Sina. "Tongan businesswoman sells company for $1 billion: 'My mother suffered because she was Pacific'". PMN Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Naomi Ballantyne to retire from Partners Life". Chatswood. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  5. ^ "New Year honours list 2017". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2025.