David Korunic
CEO and Diversity Lead Krungthai-Axa Life Insurance PCL
Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance
Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand
Business: Life Insurance
CEO: David Korunic
Website: www.krungthai-axa.co.th/en
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AT HEART OF THAILAND INSURER’S D&I STRATEGY
Leading Thailand insurer Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance has a strong employee engagement program that is committed to streamlining diversity and inclusion initiatives into the Thai society.
“We place employee engagement at the heart of our business strategy. Achieving this means creating a workplace built on values that foster diversity and equal opportunities for all, promoting employee participation, encouraging professional development, and supporting employee well-being”, the company’s CEO and Diversity Lead David Korunić said. “People are key to the success of our business”, he added.
“We are accountable for initiating and implementing D&I activities and actions for disability, LGBT, gender and generation by integrating those into our business strategy to enhance our inclusiveness in the organization and reflect the strong determination to share our good intention to Thai society and to the world”, Korunic said.
INTEGRATING DISABLED EMPLOYEES INTO THE BUSINESS
As part of its D&I initiatives, KAL concentrates significant resources on hiring and treating people with disabilities equally with the non-disabled. Korunic said throughout the company, employees with disabilities are a benefit to the success of the business. “Their positive attitude and drive benefits the company immensely. Great people build great companies,” he said.
Korunic explained the company integrates disabled employees into the workforce through a strategy of securing talented people and investing in a training program that allows them to realize their full potential. ”We do not differentiate between the able bodied and the disabled as we focus on equal opportunity and open the door for all people to be a part of Krungthai-AXA Life,” Korunic said.
He said a primary challenge has been the focus in Thailand of giving charity to people with disabilities rather than providing them with opportunities. “I believe in giving opportunity not charity,” he said. By focusing on their abilities, the company taps into a wider talent pool of differently abled people.
“In Thailand there are about 1.6 million of these special people and all they ask for is an opportunity to demonstrate their talent and to make a meaningful contribution to the world thereby gaining self-respect, something we all take for granted” Korunic said. “People bound to a wheelchair, the blind, the deaf – all people with disabilities can make a difference to society and build for themselves an independent life,” he added.
RAISING AWARENESS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
Korunic said the company shares its D&I strategies and legal opinions in supporting the employment of people with disabilities throughout the Thai Society to encourage other private sectors and governmental organizations to provide opportunities. He also added that the company drives its employees’ benefit taking into account LGBT as equal in all respects. Krungthai-AXA Life also works on gender diversity and Gen Y’s voice agendas.
The company actively participates in a variety of international and national efforts promoting diversity and inclusion. “Everyone deserves to have opportunity to have equality in their life,” Korunic said.
Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance joint ventured with Krungthai Bank, the largest Thai Government Bank and the AXA Group, the First Global Insurance Brand as ranked by Interbrand.
HIGHLIGHTS OF KAL’S RECENT D&I RECOGNITION INCLUDE:
- Profiles in Diversity Journal – Diversity Leader Award
- Springboard Consulting LLC. – Disability Matters Awards – Asia Pacific Region: Workforce
- Workability Thailand – Welcome Disability (Well-D)
- Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Department of Empowerment of People with Disabilities – Social Contribution for Disabled People Award
- Ministry of Labour, Department of Skill Development – The Annual Best Employer Award in Employee Skill Development
- Office of Insurance Commission of Thailand -The Best Development Life Insurance company
