Tower restructuring claims second casualty

By KEVIN TAYLOR

More restructuring has been announced at listed financial services company Tower - barely a day after its chief cleared his desk.

Tower managing director of 12 years James Boonzaier had his last day at work on Wednesday. He left his million-dollar-a-year job after mutual agreement with the board that he should go.

Acting Tower chief executive Keith Taylor yesterday announced restructuring of Tower's Australian operations with the position of head of distribution, Ken Boag, being abolished.

Taylor said with the impending sale of the company's personal and corporate trust business, it had been decided that the remaining wealth management and risk insurance businesses would perform better merged.

Five Tower operations would be merged to form Tower Australia, and a chief executive would be appointed.

As a result of the restructuring there would no longer be a group chief operating executive position, now held by Boag.



Taylor said Boag, who was a director of Tower, had played a leading role in the development of the company's operations in Australia over the past 10 years.

"Ken Boag has had an enormous influence on Tower's business in Australia and is highly respected in both Tower and the financial services market."



Taylor said the restructuring was another part of the "New Horizon" strategy announced in December to boost the company's growth prospects, especially in Australia, where the financial services group now has 70 per cent of its business.