Insurance giant Aviva has appointed a new chairman who will move from Australia to take charge of the company next year.

The business announced this morning that John McFarlane will become a non-executive director as of September 1, and move on to a deputy chairman role on January 1.

He will then formally take over from the incumbent chairman, Lord Sharman of Redlynch, at the end of June 2012.

Mr McFarlane is currently a non-executive director at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Westfield Holdings Limited and for ten years was chief executive officer of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. Previously he has also been a non-executive director at the London Stock Exchange.

Mr McFarlane said: 'I am delighted to be joining Aviva in such an important role.

'Aviva is a great company and an excellent brand and recent results show that the hard work over the last few years is paying off.

'I've been impressed with the people I have met and look forward to working with them.

'Aviva has a very promising future and I will be pleased to contribute to its ongoing

success.'

Lord Sharman of Redlynch, current chairman of Aviva, said: 'John McFarlane's extensive experience as both an executive and non-executive director in international financial services will be invaluable to Aviva.

'Under his leadership ANZ became one of Australia's most respected and best performing companies. 'I am very pleased that John is joining Aviva – he is an exceptional addition to an already strong board and will continue our focus on delivering shareholder value and serving all of Aviva's constituents.'