Aviva 2006 Annual Report Download - page 11

Overview Business review Governance Financial statements Other information
Aviva plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2006 7
Left to right:
Andrew Moss
Group finance director
Richard Harvey
Group chief executive
Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE
Chairman
doing in these areas. In September, we met in India, and combined the meeting with visits to some of our key
sites there and in Sri Lanka. It is important that, as a board, we speak directly to people in our business, and see
first-hand the exciting developments that are going on. This particular visit gave us a valuable insight into one
of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world, and the excellent work being performed by our people.
Employees
Iwould like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment in helping to deliver an excellent
set of results. This admirable performance comes against the backdrop of the reduction in the number of
UK staff we announced as part of our cost-efficiency programme. During 2006, we made progress in aligning
the remuneration of our senior management with the needs of employees and customers. For the first time
this year, an element of senior management pay and bonuses will be dependent on employee engagement
and customer satisfaction measures, helping to acknowledge that the longer term performance of Aviva
depends on motivated staff and satisfied customers.
It was very pleasing to see that Aviva has been recognised as one of the top 50 best places for women
to work in the UK, according to The Times.Particularly satisfying for me was that we were the only company
to be named in each of the assessed categories, emphasising our progressive approach.
Recognition
We have earned awards in a large number of our businesses across Europe, Asia and North America.
The recognition has come in areas such as product innovation, sustainability, fund performance, diversity,
customer satisfaction, media campaigns and many more. The sheer breadth of this recognition demonstrates
to me that across the group we are performing to a high level and pushing ourselves to be the best.
Outlook
We are in a great position and our businesses around the world are performing strongly. We have a diverse
geographic spread and multiple product types and distribution channels in our coremarkets. This balance,
particularly the split between long-term savings and general insurance, is a significant advantage as it allows
us to be flexible and to fund organic growth internally. When allied to the external market environment and
the increasing need for higher retirement savings, it is clear that we have a significant opportunity ahead of us.
2006 has been a year of considerable progress and I fully expect these positive trends to continue through 2007.
Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE
Chairman