Macquarie Group Ltd, an Investment bank, confirmed today that it had appointed Michael Hawker to the board as an independent non executive director. Hawker is a former chief executive of Insurance Australia Group and currently working with British insurer Aviva as a director on the board.

Macquarie Group told that the appointment is effective immediately and Hawker will remain based in London while doing the job for Macquarie. The company said that the appointment of Hawker will add value to its board.

Michael Hawker has a deep experience in the financial services sector. He worked for seven years in Insurance Australia Group as chief executive and managing director from 2001 to 2008. He had to resign from IAG as the shareholders were very angry over the company's rejection of a takeover bid from QBE Insurance Group.

Before joining IAG, he had worked in Citibank in Australia and Britain for almost eleven years. He worked there as a deputy managing director for Australia and head of derivatives in Europe.

Hawker currently sits on the board of the Australian Rugby Union, and also is chairman of trustees of the Giant Steps Foundation.