Who Is Debbie Eyre? Her Career and Partners Life Role

Introduction

Debbie Eyre is a New Zealand-based insurance and financial-services executive. As of July 2026, she is the Chief Operating Officer of Partners Life.

She has more than 25 years of leadership experience across insurance, banking and investments. Her career includes senior roles at TOWER, ANZ Wealth, OnePath, Cigna and Chubb Life.

Debbie is known for improving business operations, updating technology and building services around the needs of customers and employees. Readers interested in similar people can explore more New Zealand entrepreneurs and business leaders on NZBeat.

Quick Answer

Debbie Eyre joined Partners Life as Chief Operating Officer in February 2026. Before taking on this role, she held senior leadership positions at Chubb Life, Cigna, ANZ Wealth, and TOWER. Today, she helps improve key areas of the business, including claims, customer service, underwriting, technology, and new business operations.

Debbie Eyre Quick Facts

Fact	Verified detail
Full name	Debbie Eyre
Profession	Insurance and financial-services executive
Current role	Chief Operating Officer
Current employer	Partners Life
Current position verified	July 2026
Qualification	Master of Business Administration
Experience	With over 25 years of experience
Main industries	Insurance, banking and investments
Previous organisations	TOWER, ANZ Wealth, OnePath, Cigna and Chubb Life
Main responsibilities	Claims, customer service, underwriting and new business

Who Is Debbie Eyre?

Debbie Eyre is an experienced business leader who has spent much of her career working in financial services.

She is not mainly known as a television personality or online celebrity. Her public reputation comes from her work inside major New Zealand financial and insurance companies.

Her responsibilities have often involved large teams, customer operations, business systems and major organisational changes. This work is important because an insurance company must be able to process applications, answer customer questions and handle claims correctly.

Education and Professional Qualification

Corporate reports published by Cigna and Chubb Life list Debbie Eyre as holding a Master of Business Administration, commonly called an MBA.

An MBA teaches important business subjects such as management, finance, operations, strategy and leadership. These skills are closely connected to the senior positions Debbie has held throughout her career.

Early Verified Career at TOWER

Debbie joined TOWER in May 2005. This is the earliest clearly documented stage of her career in publicly available company records.

By December 2010, she was serving as TOWER’s Acting Health and Life Chief Executive Officer. She moved into the position of General Manager, Customer Services on February 1, 2011.

This role placed her close to the daily needs of customers. It also involved managing services that helped people communicate with the company and receive support.

Following a change to TOWER’s operating structure, Debbie became General Manager, Service Enablement in 2013. Industry records indicate that she had responsibility for more than 120 employees across different parts of the business.

She also held directorships with TOWER Insurance PNG Limited and Southern Cross Marine Limited. She resigned from those positions in November 2014.

Move to ANZ Wealth and OnePath

After her work at TOWER, Debbie became General Manager of Wealth Operations at ANZ New Zealand.

Industry reporting says she held this role for almost five years. Wealth operations can include the systems, employees and processes used to manage investment and financial products.

Her position became connected with OnePath, ANZ’s insurance and investment business. When Cigna acquired OnePath Life, Debbie was among the senior OnePath leaders selected to join Cigna’s management team.

This move gave her an important role during a period of major organisational change.

Leadership at Cigna New Zealand

Debbie joined Cigna in December 2018 and became its Chief Operating Officer.

Cigna was working to bring the OnePath and Cigna businesses together. This required the company to connect teams, customer services, products and technology systems.

Debbie’s operational experience was useful during this process. Her responsibilities covered important parts of the company’s daily work and long-term development.

In July 2020, she also became an executive director of Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand.

Company reports show that she served on the Audit and Risk Committee and the Conduct and Culture Committee. These committees helped oversee financial reporting, company risks, regulatory responsibilities, employee culture and customer treatment.

Continued Role Under Chubb Life

Chubb acquired Cigna’s New Zealand life-insurance business in July 2022. The company later changed its name from Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand to Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand in March 2023.

Debbie continued working as Chief Operating Officer and executive director under Chubb ownership.

Her work at Chubb Life included technology, claims, underwriting and customer operations. In 2024, she supported the appointment of a new Head of Technology who was expected to help the company use modern cloud systems.

In Chubb’s official technology announcement, Debbie explained that technology could help move the business forward and improve services for customers and financial advisers.

In February 2025, she was still serving as Chubb Life’s Chief Operating Officer. The company’s new Head of Claims reported directly to her.

Why Partners Life Chose Debbie Eyre

Partners Life announced Debbie’s appointment as Chief Operating Officer in January 2026. Her position became effective in February 2026.

According to the official Partners Life announcement, the company selected her because of her experience in transformation, technology modernisation and customer service.

Partners Life also highlighted her ability to inspire teams and support business growth.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Weston, described her leadership approach as people-first. This means considering the effect of business decisions on employees, advisers and customers.

What Does Debbie Eyre Do at Partners Life?

As Chief Operating Officer, Debbie helps manage several of the company’s most important operational areas.

Her responsibilities include:

• Claims
• Customer service
• Underwriting
• New-business processing
• Operational transformation
• Technology and process improvements
• Employee and company culture

Claims are requests for payment made by customers after an event covered by an insurance policy.

Underwriting is the process an insurer uses to understand risk and decide the conditions under which it can offer cover.

New-business processing covers the steps needed to review and complete new insurance applications.

These departments must work together. A delay in one area can affect customers, advisers and other employees.

Focus on Better Customer Service

In March 2026, Debbie took part in a Partners Life webinar for financial advisers.

She acknowledged that the company’s earlier service levels had not been where it wanted them to be. High numbers of claims and new applications had placed pressure on its teams.

Debbie identified automation as an important part of the solution. Automation can help a company complete simple and repeated tasks more quickly while allowing employees to focus on work that needs human judgement.

Partners Life’s improvement work included:

• Reviewing its complete claims process
• Bringing in an independent third party to examine the process
• Finding points that caused delays for customers and advisers
• Improving underwriting systems
• Updating electronic applications
• Reducing paperwork
• Simplifying electronic consent
• Making better use of information already held by the company

Her comments showed a practical approach. She recognised the problems, explained their causes and discussed the work being done to improve them.

Debbie Eyre’s Leadership Style

Debbie has publicly said that she wants to make a lasting difference for employees, distribution partners and customers.

Her stated values include:

• Building lasting relationships
• Challenging old methods
• Doing the right thing
• Supporting employees
• Improving customer outcomes
• Using technology wisely
• Encouraging innovation

Partners Life has described her as strategic and resilient. It has also highlighted her ability to help teams accept change and work toward shared goals.

Different leaders develop these skills in different industries. For example, Anna Mowbray’s business journey shows how leadership can grow through manufacturing, technology and company building.

Debbie’s experience developed mainly through insurance operations, financial services and corporate governance.

Business and Governance Experience

Debbie’s career has involved both management and governance.

Management is about operating a business and leading its employees. Governance involves overseeing the company’s direction, risks, responsibilities and rules.

Her executive-director position at Cigna and Chubb Life gave her experience in both areas. Her committee work also involved risk, compliance, conduct and company culture.

This combination is valuable in insurance because the industry handles customers’ money, personal information and financial protection.

Other public leaders may build similar skills through finance, charities or public organisations. Greg Fleming’s career and leadership background provides another New Zealand example of experience across several sectors.

Debbie Eyre Career Timeline

• May 2005: Joined TOWER.
• December 2010: Served as Acting Health and Life CEO at TOWER.
• February 2011: Became General Manager, Customer Services.
• 2013: Became General Manager, Service Enablement.
• By November 2014: Completed TOWER-related subsidiary directorships.
• Following TOWER: Became General Manager of Wealth Operations at ANZ New Zealand.
• December 2018: Joined Cigna as Chief Operating Officer.
• July 2020: Became an executive director of Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand.
• July 2022: Continued in senior leadership after Chubb acquired the business.
• March 2023: Continued as COO after the company adopted the Chubb Life name.
• February 2025: Publicly confirmed as Chubb Life New Zealand’s COO.
• February 2026: Became Chief Operating Officer of Partners Life.
• July 2026: Listed as a member of the Partners Life executive leadership team.

Why Is Debbie Eyre Important in New Zealand Insurance?

Debbie has worked through several important changes in the New Zealand financial-services industry.

She helped lead operations during the combination of OnePath and Cigna. She then continued through Cigna’s move into Chubb ownership. In 2026, she joined Partners Life during another period of service and technology development.

Her career shows how senior operational leaders work behind the scenes. Their decisions can affect how quickly customers receive answers, how easily advisers submit applications and how well claims are handled.

Her experience also connects traditional customer service with modern digital systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Debbie Eyre’s current job?

As of July 2026, Debbie Eyre is the Chief Operating Officer of Partners Life.

When did Debbie Eyre join Partners Life?

Her appointment became effective in February 2026.

Where did Debbie Eyre work before Partners Life?

She previously held senior positions at Chubb Life, Cigna, ANZ Wealth, OnePath and TOWER.

What qualification does Debbie Eyre hold?

Corporate reports list her as holding a Master of Business Administration.

What does Debbie Eyre manage at Partners Life?

Her responsibilities include claims, customer service, underwriting, new-business processing and operational improvement.

What is Debbie Eyre known for?

She is known for leading business transformation, modernising technology, improving customer operations and supporting employees through change.

Was Debbie Eyre a company director?

Yes. Corporate records show that she became an executive director of Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand in July 2020 and continued in that position under Chubb Life.

Final Thoughts

Debbie Eyre has built a long career in insurance, banking and investments. Her professional journey includes customer-service leadership at TOWER, wealth operations at ANZ, organisational change at Cigna and Chubb Life, and her current position at Partners Life.

Her work focuses on making complex insurance operations clearer, faster and more useful for customers, advisers and employees.

As Partners Life’s Chief Operating Officer, she is now responsible for helping the company improve its claims, customer service, underwriting, new-business systems and wider operational performance.