Zurich Insurance Group has announced changes to senior management.
After 10 years with Zurich, including six as chief executive officer, Martin Senn has decided to step down by mutual agreement with the board of directors. He will leave the company at the end of the year.
Tom de Swaan, who has been a member of the board of directors since 2006 and was named its chairman in 2013, has been appointed interim CEO with immediate effect. While serving as CEO, Mr. de Swaan will hold his mandates with other listed companies in abeyance.
Fred Kindle, the vice chairman of the board, will take on certain additional responsibilities, the company said. It added that the process to appoint Mr. Senn's successor was underway.
Mr. Senn said, “After 10 very intense years with Zurich, I have decided to step down as CEO and to make way for new leadership. Zurich is a profitable, well capitalized company with outstanding employees. It enjoys an excellent reputation with customers around the world and sustainably delivers attractive dividends to shareholders. There have been some setbacks in recent months, but I am convinced that we have put in place the right measures for Zurich to reach its targets. I will remain closely tied to the company and am proud of what we have achieved together over the years.”
Mr. de Swaan said, “The board of directors owes a massive thanks to Martin Senn. First as our chief investment officer and in the past six years as CEO, he has successfully guided our company through a challenging environment, showing great foresight and tireless personal commitment. I have come to know him as a leader of the highest integrity, someone with a very rare sense of how to balance the interests of different stakeholder groups. Over the past two years, he has set in motion a transformation that will make our company more customer-centric, more efficient, and more successful.”
Learn more: www.zurich.com.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].