Allianz chief actuary replaces CFO exiting for Generali

Dive Brief:

Munich, Germany-based Allianz SE on Monday named Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre, 48, currently the global insurer’s chief actuary and head of planning and controlling, to replace the firm’s outgoing CFO Giulio Terzariol, 51, who is leaving after nearly six years at the finance helm.
Insurer Generali separately announced on Monday that Terzariol will join the Milan, Italy-based company in January, taking the newly created role of “CEO Insurance” and reporting directly to the Group CEO Philippe Donnet. The move marks a return for Terzariol, who left Generali after a two-year trainee stint to begin his roughly 25-year tenure at Alliance in 1998, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Also on Monday Allianz’s supervisory board renewed the contract of Oliver Bäte, 58, as chairman of the company’s board of management and CEO of Allianz SE and extended it through the company’s annual shareholders meeting in 2028.

Dive Insight:

Allianz’s C-suite decisions come just over a year after Allianz SE’s Allianz Global Investors U.S. agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the fund and three former senior portfolio managers were involved in a scheme that concealed the risks of a complex options trading strategy which was exposed in the COVID-19 market crash of March 2020, according to an SEC release last year.

The renewal of the Allianz CEO’s contract draws to a close uncertainty around Bäte’s future at the firm in the wake of the more than $6 billion settlement with the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice over the collapse of the funds, according to a Reuters report.

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Allianz SE Michael Diekmann in a statement in the release lent his support to the move to reup Bäte’s contract. “The Supervisory Board fully endorses the continuation of Oliver Bäte’s leadership, supported by his colleagues in the Board of Management, to maintain Allianz’s sustainable and profitable growth, to further develop its thriving and productive workforce, and sharpen its competitive positioning for the future,” Diekmann said.

Coste-Lepoutre, previously the CFO and deputy CEO of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE, will succeed Terzariol, as the company is releasing him from his mandate that had been scheduled for renewal at the end of 2025. Coste-Lepoutre is working with Terzariol on a smooth transition process and has been appointed to a position as a member of the board of management, effective Jan. 1.

Bäte voiced support for Cost-Lepoutre. “We are also fortunate to have strong and talented leaders such as Claire-Marie in the succession and development pipelines across our company. She has been working closely with Giulio on a seamless continuation of leadership and is fully ready to step into her new role,” Bäte said in a statement in the release.