SCOR’s Board of Directors has appointed Thierry Léger, Chief Underwriting Officer of Swiss Re, as SCOR’s chief executive officer. Léger will take up his position as CEO of SCOR effective May 1, 2023.
has 25 years of experience in the reinsurance industry with expertise in life reinsurance, property/casualty reinsurance and alternative reinsurance.
Laurent Rousseau, who succeeded Denis Kessler as CEO on June 30, 2021, has resigned as CEO of SCOR and his position on the Board. He is leaving the Group to pursue other professional opportunities.
The Board of Directors will propose to the 2023 General Assembly that Léger join the Board of Directors.
François de Varenne, member of the Executive Committee responsible for Investments, Technology, Transformation and Group Corporate Finance, has been appointed interim CEO of SCOR with immediate effect until Thierry Léger takes up his position. The board of directors has asked its chairman, Denis Kessler, to lend his support to de Varenne and then to Thierry Léger to make this change in executive management go smoothly.
Christian Mumenthaler, Group Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Re, said: “During the past 25 years at Swiss Re, Thierry has made significant contributions to many areas of our business, from Reinsurance to the former Life Capital Business Unit, to Group Underwriting. Since his appointment as group CUO in 2020, he has successfully developed our underwriting capabilities by leveraging cutting-edge research, access to more and better data and analytics. On behalf of the entire Group Executive Committee, I would like to thank Thierry for his dedication and commitment to Swiss Re and wish him every success for the future.”
Mumenthaler will take over Léger’s responsibilities until a successor is announced.
Léger will be responsible for drawing up a new attractive and ambitious strategic plan for SCOR and will outline the orientations and main features of this plan during the general meeting of 2023. His mission will be to help SCOR further consolidate its position as a leading global reinsurer.
Biography
Léger, 56, a French and Swiss citizen, holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and an Executive MBA from the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland. He started his career in the civil construction industry before joining Swiss Re in 1997 as a technical underwriter.
In 2001, he moved to Swiss Re New Markets, where he provided non-traditional (or alternative) risk transfer solutions to insurance clients. Between 2003 and 2005, he was a member of the executive team in France as leader of the sales team. From 2006 onwards, Léger took on increasing responsibility for Swiss Re’s largest clients, eventually becoming head of the newly created Globals Division in 2010 and a member of the then-existing Group Management Board. In 2013 Léger became head of Life & Health Products Reinsurance. As of January 2016, he was appointed CEO Life Capital and member of the Executive Committee of Swiss Re. In September 2020, he assumed the role of group chief underwriting officer. Léger is married and the father of two young adults.
Comments by Kessler and Léger
“At the proposal of the Nomination Committee, the Board of Directors unanimously decided to entrust the executive management of the group to Thierry Léger, an experienced and skilled reinsurer who is an expert in both life and non-life reinsurance,” said Kessler. at SCOR.
“He has held key positions at a major global reinsurance company and has all the skills needed to lead the SCOR group and forge a new strategic vision for the company, while pursuing an underwriting stance based entirely on technical profitability.” added Kessler.
“By giving a high priority to capital allocation and returns, and applying very strict risk management, Thierry Léger will restore the group’s profitability and maintain its high level of solvency, to the benefit of all stakeholders: customers, shareholders and employees, ” he said. . “SCOR is entering a new chapter in its history. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Laurent Rousseau for his contribution to the group during a particularly difficult period.”
“I am very pleased to be part of SCOR and honored by the trust the Board of Directors has placed in me by appointing me CEO. I look forward to meeting the group’s employees, customers and shareholders. I intend to actively pursue the growth of the company by further developing the products and structure,” says Léger.
“The reinsurance sector offers many opportunities, both on the liability side with the increased demand for cover and the improvement in terms and conditions, and on the asset side with the rise in interest rates,” continues Léger. “I am confident that SCOR is well placed to take full advantage of this favorable environment. I know I can count on highly skilled and experienced teams and excellent customer relationships. Let’s all take this journey together. I will put all my energy into giving SCOR a new impulse.”
Source: SCOR and Swiss Re
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Swiss re
