AIA Regional Chief Executive and Group Chief Distribution Officer
We at AIA are profoundly saddened to confirm that William “Bill” Lisle died in Hong Kong on 20 April 2022, at the age of 57. Bill was an extremely accomplished professional both at AIA and throughout the industry. To countless people, Bill was a dear friend, a trusted mentor, and a well-respected colleague. To those who knew him best, he was above all things, a fiercely dedicated and loving family man.
Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family, especially his beloved wife, Miki, his daughter Sophie, and son William. Our heartfelt sympathies go to his mother Thomasena, his brother Steven, sister-in-law Margaret, his niece Tanya, and nephew Mark. He is preceded in death by his father William Lisle, Senior.
Bill was born on 8 April 1965 in Morpeth, Northumberland, UK. He earned his Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering in 1987 and began a career in insurance in Newcastle in 1988 that would span nearly four decades and take him around the world.
While working in Britain with various insurers, Bill demonstrated his lifelong commitment to self-improvement by completing a Wharton School programme in Business Finance in 2000. In 2001, Bill joined AIA with his first overseas position in Singapore, establishing himself in the region that would become his home. Over the years, he took on many challenging industry roles across Asia, including positions in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, and India, where he also earned an Executive MBA from Mumbai’s National Institute of Management.
Bill first met Miki in Canada in 1997 and the two were later married in Korea on 4 October 2003. They were blessed with Sophie’s arrival in 2005 and again, with William’s arrival in 2009. Despite his professional achievements, Bill was always proudest of his family.
Bill rejoined AIA in 2011 first as Group Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer and then in 2012, he responded to a need and stepped back into a business unit role as CEO of AIA Malaysia to lead the large-scale and successful integration of ING Malaysia after its acquisition by the Group.
In 2015, Bill was appointed Group Regional Chief Executive and relocated to Hong Kong with his family where they quickly became mainstays in the local community and the AIA Hong Kong family. His leadership and responsibilities spanned the region with particular focus on markets such as Australia, New Zealand, India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. In 2020, Bill also took on the role of Group Chief Distribution Officer. Throughout his time at AIA, Bill served as a director of many Group companies, including AIA Company Limited, AIA Vietnam, AIA Australia, AIA New Zealand and Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited.
Bill was an extraordinarily capable leader who had an enormous, positive impact on AIA. He was an originator and champion of many key initiatives for AIA. He also accelerated innovation across the organisation. However, he was most passionate about people, and deeply committed to nurturing and empowering all with whom he came in contact.
After spending more than twenty years living and working in Asia, Bill loved this region and sincerely felt at home in this part of the world. And there are now literally hundreds of lives and dozens of communities that will continue to benefit from his dedication, effort, and energy through the years. Throughout the region, and certainly throughout AIA, hearts are extremely heavy at his passing, but also full of gratitude for the immense positive impact that he had on them as individuals.
He will be most fondly remembered and greatly missed.