Wilson is "frontrunner" for Aviva top job Mark Wilson, the former chief executive of Asian life insurer AIA, has emerged as a frontrunner for the top job at Aviva, according to people familiar with the situation. The UK insurer has been run by chairman John McFarlane since May when chief executive Andrew Moss stood down following a pay revolt by investors over his pay and the group's long-term underperformance. Mr McFarlane has been pushing through a dramatic reshaping of Aviva and last week told investors they should expect a heavy loss on the imminent disposal of its US arm, which is to be sold at a "substantial discount" to its £3.2bn holding value in Aviva's accounts. Mr Wilson, 45, a New Zealander and former rugby player, is an experienced insurance executive although his career has been entirely in Asia. He was widely credited with keeping AIA on an even keel during the financial crisis, when its US parent, AIG, was bailed out by the US government. He joined AIA in 2006 as a regional president, rising to become chief executive three years later, and previously spent 18 years with Axa's Asia-Pacific business. During his time as AIA chief executive, he clashed with Bob Benmosche, head of AIG, over whether the Asian business should be listed on the stock market or sold to Prudential of the UK, which mounted a $35bn bid in March 2010. He left AIA after the collapse of Prudential's bid and has since been working on various potential private equity-backed deals for other insurance businesses. Most recently, he led a consortium backed by Blackstone and Swiss Re to buy the Asian operations of ING, although the Dutch group eventually decided to sell the business in parts to different bidders. Aviva declined to comment on its search for a new chief executive. However, at its third-quarter results last week, Mr McFarlane said the process was well advanced and shortlisted candidates were being interviewed by non-executive directors. The main internal candidate is Pat Regan, the chief financial officer. Mr Wilson could not be reached for comment. Mr McFarlane, who himself spent a decade leading a turnround at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, has been battling to shore up the balance sheet of Aviva and bolster its flagging shares. He has speeded up the sale non-core businesses as the group withdraws from 16 of its 58 business segments. Aviva has already sold slightly more than half of its remaining shareholding in Delta Lloyd, the Dutch insurer it used to fully own. It has also agreed a deal to pull out of Sri Lanka and is closing in on a sale of its Malaysian joint venture.