Media release
19 June 2025
Appointment of future Independent Non-Executive Directors
Acenda and Resolution Life Australasia welcomes the appointment of Ms Catherine Dubé, Mr David Stephen, Ms Melissa Babbage and Ms Rosheen Garnon as future Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Acenda Group, including Acenda (formerly, MLC Life Insurance) and Resolution Life Australasia.
These appointments follow Nippon Life’s announcement in December 2024 that it had agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of Resolution Life. On completion of this transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to occur in the second half of 2025, Resolution Life Australasia and Acenda will merge to form one of the largest life insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand, the Acenda Group.
These appointments will take effect upon completion of the transaction, along with the appointment of Mr Craig Dunn as future Chair of the Acenda Group. Ms Dubé and Mr Stephen are current Independent Non-Executive Directors of the MLC Limited Board while Ms Babbage and Ms Garnon are Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Resolution Life Australasia Limited Board.
Mr Craig Dunn, said: “I welcome the appointments of Melissa, Rosheen, Catherine, and David as future Directors of the Acenda Group Board. Their combined experience in financial services will be instrumental as we guide the Acenda Group into a new era. I look forward to working with them as we develop and enhance our products and services to meet the needs of millions of customers across Australia and New Zealand.”
Ms Jacqueline Korhonen will continue as an Independent Director of the MLC Limited Board, which will become a subsidiary Board of the Group, post completion of the transaction.
Additionally, Mr Rodney Cook will be appointed as Independent Non-Executive Director of Resolution Life Australasia Limited, which will also operate as a subsidiary Board of the Group from completion. He is expected to join the Board in late October 2025.
Biography – Ms Catherine Dubé
Catherine is an Actuary with over 30 years experience in financial services. Catherine is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of MLC Limited and the Chair of the Audit Committee. Catherine’s other positions include Non-Executive Director for Guild Group Holdings and Guild Insurance, where she chairs both the Group Audit and Risk Committees. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair for Assetinsure, and is a member of the ACT Public Trustee and Guardian Investment Board. Previously, she served as Audit Committee Chair on the Board of Challenger Retirement and Investment Services. Prior to her non-executive roles, Catherine was Chief Risk Officer at AIG for the Australasian region.
Biography – Mr David Stephen
As a Banking and Financial Services leader with over 35 years of experience, David has a strong record in driving risk management and compliance for some of the largest financial services organisations in the world. He has expertise in strategy, leadership, governance, culture, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), transformation, remediation, and navigating the complexity of regulated industries. David is currently an Independent Non-Executive director of MLC Limited and the Chair of the Risk Committee. Prior to this role, David served on Boards of the International Financial Risk Institute and Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA), and he was previously the Group Chief Risk Officer and a Member of the Executive teams for Westpac, ANZ Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Biography – Ms Melissa Babbage
Melissa is currently a Non-Executive Director of Resolution Life and Swiss Re Asia, and is a member of the Investment Committees for Ord Minnett Private Opportunities Fund and the 1941 Fund. Prior to these roles, she was a Non-Executive Director of Q Super, Swiss Re Australia, Swiss Re US, Mercer Investments, St Vincent’s Health & Aged Care, the IOOF Foundation and Athletics Australia. She has chaired Investment, Risk and Audit Committees on these boards. Before moving into Board positions, Melissa enjoyed a twenty-year career in both international and domestic financial markets. Commencing in interest rate derivatives trading at Bankers Trust in 1992, she then moved to Commodities trading at Deutsche Bank in 1997. In 2000 she was appointed as Managing Director, and in this capacity had roles as Head of Global Finance and Foreign Exchange A/NZ for Deutsche Bank Australia, Head of Commodities Asia-Pacific, and was a member of the Global Executive team. Melissa is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Biography – Ms Rosheen Garnon
Rosheen is a Non-Executive Director with current roles in Financial Services, Infrastructure and Transport, and Government. She is a Non-Executive Director of the Resolution Life Australia Limited Board and chairs the People and Remuneration Committee. She is also a Board Member of Venues NSW, a Board Member of the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia, a Board Member of The Smith Family and a Trustee Director of Retirement Benefit Fund Pty Limited. Her former roles include Chair of the Board of Taxation, an Independent Government Advisory Board which advises the Australian Treasurer on the Australian Taxation System and a Non-Executive Director of Australian Rail Track Corporation. Prior to this, Rosheen had a distinguished career in the accounting profession as a Senior Partner with KPMG, where she held senior executive management positions with the Australian firm and at a regional (ASPAC) and global level. Rosheen is chartered accountant, and a taxation adviser. She has extensive experience with a range of regulated industries and has senior level Government experience in Public Policy.
Biography – Ms Jacqueline Korhonen
Jacqueline has more than 30 years of experience in the technology sector and is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of MLC Limited. Prior to this role, she held various roles internationally, including Vice President of Cognitive Process Transformation Services at IBM, CEO of SMS Management and Technology, and CEO of Infosys Australia. Jacqueline is an Independent Non-Executive Director at MyState Ltd, Nuix Ltd and Bapcor Ltd. She is also a Council Member of International House at The University of Sydney and a Director at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Jacqueline is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Biography – Mr Rodney Cook
Rodney is an experienced Board Member and former Chief Executive Officer, with a global track record in leading businesses through transformation and turnaround into high performance in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Rodney is experienced in strategically navigating the dynamic and constantly changing environments within financial services, across a broad range of industry sectors including banking, insurance and retirement incomes. Rodney has held Board Chair roles at Ergo Bank NZ, Pearl Bank (UK) and Virgin Direct UK. During his executive career, Rodney was the CEO and Managing Director of a number of financial services organisations including Acenda, JUST Group UK, Zurich Life & Sterling Assurance, and AMP New Zealand Financial Services. Rodney is passionate about delivering a customer-centric experience and led a company that was named the “Most Customer Focused Large Enterprise in the UK” in 2019.
These appointments follow Nippon Life’s announcement in December 2024 that it had agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of Resolution Life. On completion of this transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to occur in the second half of 2025, Resolution Life Australasia and Acenda will merge to form one of the largest life insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand, the Acenda Group.
These appointments will take effect upon completion of the transaction, along with the appointment of Mr Craig Dunn as future Chair of the Acenda Group. Ms Dubé and Mr Stephen are current Independent Non-Executive Directors of the MLC Limited Board while Ms Babbage and Ms Garnon are Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Resolution Life Australasia Limited Board.
Mr Craig Dunn, said: “I welcome the appointments of Melissa, Rosheen, Catherine, and David as future Directors of the Acenda Group Board. Their combined experience in financial services will be instrumental as we guide the Acenda Group into a new era. I look forward to working with them as we develop and enhance our products and services to meet the needs of millions of customers across Australia and New Zealand.”
Ms Jacqueline Korhonen will continue as an Independent Director of the MLC Limited Board, which will become a subsidiary Board of the Group, post completion of the transaction.
Additionally, Mr Rodney Cook will be appointed as Independent Non-Executive Director of Resolution Life Australasia Limited, which will also operate as a subsidiary Board of the Group from completion. He is expected to join the Board in late October 2025.
Biography – Ms Catherine Dubé
Catherine is an Actuary with over 30 years experience in financial services. Catherine is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of MLC Limited and the Chair of the Audit Committee. Catherine’s other positions include Non-Executive Director for Guild Group Holdings and Guild Insurance, where she chairs both the Group Audit and Risk Committees. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair for Assetinsure, and is a member of the ACT Public Trustee and Guardian Investment Board. Previously, she served as Audit Committee Chair on the Board of Challenger Retirement and Investment Services. Prior to her non-executive roles, Catherine was Chief Risk Officer at AIG for the Australasian region.
Biography – Mr David Stephen
As a Banking and Financial Services leader with over 35 years of experience, David has a strong record in driving risk management and compliance for some of the largest financial services organisations in the world. He has expertise in strategy, leadership, governance, culture, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), transformation, remediation, and navigating the complexity of regulated industries. David is currently an Independent Non-Executive director of MLC Limited and the Chair of the Risk Committee. Prior to this role, David served on Boards of the International Financial Risk Institute and Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA), and he was previously the Group Chief Risk Officer and a Member of the Executive teams for Westpac, ANZ Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Biography – Ms Melissa Babbage
Melissa is currently a Non-Executive Director of Resolution Life and Swiss Re Asia, and is a member of the Investment Committees for Ord Minnett Private Opportunities Fund and the 1941 Fund. Prior to these roles, she was a Non-Executive Director of Q Super, Swiss Re Australia, Swiss Re US, Mercer Investments, St Vincent’s Health & Aged Care, the IOOF Foundation and Athletics Australia. She has chaired Investment, Risk and Audit Committees on these boards. Before moving into Board positions, Melissa enjoyed a twenty-year career in both international and domestic financial markets. Commencing in interest rate derivatives trading at Bankers Trust in 1992, she then moved to Commodities trading at Deutsche Bank in 1997. In 2000 she was appointed as Managing Director, and in this capacity had roles as Head of Global Finance and Foreign Exchange A/NZ for Deutsche Bank Australia, Head of Commodities Asia-Pacific, and was a member of the Global Executive team. Melissa is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Biography – Ms Rosheen Garnon
Rosheen is a Non-Executive Director with current roles in Financial Services, Infrastructure and Transport, and Government. She is a Non-Executive Director of the Resolution Life Australia Limited Board and chairs the People and Remuneration Committee. She is also a Board Member of Venues NSW, a Board Member of the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia, a Board Member of The Smith Family and a Trustee Director of Retirement Benefit Fund Pty Limited. Her former roles include Chair of the Board of Taxation, an Independent Government Advisory Board which advises the Australian Treasurer on the Australian Taxation System and a Non-Executive Director of Australian Rail Track Corporation. Prior to this, Rosheen had a distinguished career in the accounting profession as a Senior Partner with KPMG, where she held senior executive management positions with the Australian firm and at a regional (ASPAC) and global level. Rosheen is chartered accountant, and a taxation adviser. She has extensive experience with a range of regulated industries and has senior level Government experience in Public Policy.
Biography – Ms Jacqueline Korhonen
Jacqueline has more than 30 years of experience in the technology sector and is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of MLC Limited. Prior to this role, she held various roles internationally, including Vice President of Cognitive Process Transformation Services at IBM, CEO of SMS Management and Technology, and CEO of Infosys Australia. Jacqueline is an Independent Non-Executive Director at MyState Ltd, Nuix Ltd and Bapcor Ltd. She is also a Council Member of International House at The University of Sydney and a Director at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Jacqueline is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Biography – Mr Rodney Cook
Rodney is an experienced Board Member and former Chief Executive Officer, with a global track record in leading businesses through transformation and turnaround into high performance in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Rodney is experienced in strategically navigating the dynamic and constantly changing environments within financial services, across a broad range of industry sectors including banking, insurance and retirement incomes. Rodney has held Board Chair roles at Ergo Bank NZ, Pearl Bank (UK) and Virgin Direct UK. During his executive career, Rodney was the CEO and Managing Director of a number of financial services organisations including Acenda, JUST Group UK, Zurich Life & Sterling Assurance, and AMP New Zealand Financial Services. Rodney is passionate about delivering a customer-centric experience and led a company that was named the “Most Customer Focused Large Enterprise in the UK” in 2019.