Digit Life Insurance has appointed Venkatesh Naidu as Chief Distribution Officer (CDO), bringing a seasoned professional with more than 26 years of experience in insurance distribution, business leadership, channel development and strategic partnerships. The appointment comes as the company looks to simplify life insurance and expand its reach across India.
A recipient of the ET Impactful CEO Award, Naidu has extensive experience across agency, bancassurance, insurance broking, corporate agency, direct sales and digital distribution.
In his new role, Naidu will focus on strengthening the company’s distribution network, improving customer access and combining digital convenience with trusted human support. He has highlighted the significant protection gap in India’s insurance market and the need for organised innovation to increase insurance penetration.
His priorities for the coming year include making customer-focused insurance solutions accessible to more people through physical and digital channels. He will also focus on affordability, simpler customer processes and better support for distribution teams to improve service delivery.
Before joining Digit Life Insurance, Naidu served as Chief Executive Officer of BajajCapital Insurance Broking Limited, where he led business operations within the insurance distribution and broking sector. His experience in this role strengthened his understanding of customer acquisition, partner relationships, channel productivity and business growth across India.
Earlier, he held senior positions at Exide Life Insurance, including Executive Vice President and National Head – Brokers and Corporate Agency, and Director of Sales – Broking, Direct and Group Business. His responsibilities included leading national partner distribution, managing broker and corporate agency relationships, and improving sales execution across multiple channels.
Naidu previously served as Vice President and National Head – Brokers and Corporate Agency at ING Life Insurance, where he led partner acquisition and business execution across national and regional distributors.
His earlier experience includes working as Regional Manager – South India at Bharti AXA Life Insurance, where he handled regional distribution leadership. At ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, he served as Regional Manager – Andhra Pradesh, managing bancassurance and strategic alliance relationships across the region.
Naidu began his career at Standard Chartered Bank as an Assistant Manager, focusing on corporate salary account acquisition in Chennai.
He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration, specialising in Sales and Marketing, from Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME).
His appointment brings experience in multichannel distribution, bancassurance, insurance broking, corporate agency, digital distribution, sales transformation and customer-focused business growth to Digit Life Insurance as it works to broaden access to life insurance across the country.
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