SINGAPORE - AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd. (AIG Singapore) announced on Thusrday (Oct 15) the appointment of its first independent directors.

Shirish Apte and Isabella Loh have been appointed for a three-year term, effective from Thursday (Oct 15).

The independent directors will bring an outside perspective to AIG Singapore's board of directors and help to steer the company's corporate strategy, said the company. Their independence will strengthen the company's corporate governance practice, it added.

Mr Apte is currently a non-executive director on the boards of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank Handlowy in Poland and Citibank Japan Ltd. He was country head for Citibank Handlowy Poland, a regional chief executive officer for the Corporate and Investment Bank and co-CEO for the Asia Pacific, from 2009 to 2011. Prior to joining Citibank, he was a senior consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) where he handled strategy work for banking and insurance companies.

Ms Loh has been the chairman of the Singapore Environment Council since 2008. She was also the chairman of Shell Marine Products Ltd, and Shell's CEO and vice president for Global Marine Fuels and Lubricants from 2005 to 2010. She is currently a non-executive director of a Mongolian property firm, Asia Pacific Investment Partners Ltd.