Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE named a new leader and has made other key executive changes.

All are effective Dec. 1, 2019, pending regulatory approval.

Joachim Müller, currently CEO of Allianz Versicherungs-AG (the property/casualty insurer of Allianz Deutschland) and of Allianz Beratungs-und Vertriebs-AG (the sales company of Allianz Deutschland) will become the new CEO of AGCS. He succeeds Chris Fischer Hirs, who will step down as CEO on Nov. 30, 2019.

Müller “is the right candidate to lead AGCS into the future. He will continue to transform the company and to secure its leading position in this important business segment for Allianz and for our customers,” Niran Peiris, member of the board of management of Allianz SE with responsibility for Anglo-markets, Global Insurance Lines, Middle East and Africa, said in prepared remarks.

Müller is also a board member of Allianz Deutschland AG, with responsibility for sales (being CEO of ABV since 2014) and for property and casualty insurance, where he has been CEO since 2016.

With extensive experience in the financial services industry, Müller is credited by AGCS with successfully demonstrating in his recent CEO roles how long-term revenue growth can be combined with sustainable underwriting profitability. AGCS also noted Müller’s track record of leading large-scale insurance businesses through transformation and digitalization while maintaining a strong focus on customers and sales in sectors ranging from retail and SME up to large businesses, including in highly competitive market environments.

Exiting CEO Fischer Hirs joined Allianz in 1999 as chief financial officer of Allianz Risk Transfer AG (ART) and was a key part of the team that established ART in the alternative risk transfer sector. He joined the AGCS SE board in 2007 and held a variety of board positions, contributing to the successful establishment of AGCS, including chief regions & markets officer and then CFO, before becoming CEO in 2015. During his tenure as CEO, Fischer Hirs successfully led the company through a period of extensive change, including the incorporation of Allianz subsidiary Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. into AGCS.

Fischer Hirs “has been with AGCS since its early days and has been instrumental in shaping the company into the market leader it is today,” Peiris said.

The other executive changes:

• Andreas Kanning, currently a board member at ABV, will become CEO of ABV and a board member of Allianz Deutschland AG.
• In addition to his role as CEO of Allianz Deutschland AG, Klaus-Peter Röhler will become CEO of Allianz Versicherungs-AG.

Kanning joined Allianz in 1995 and took over several managerial roles in the sales area. From 2012 until 2014, he took over a management role in human resources at Allianz Deutschland AG, after which he was appointed to the ABV management board. He became responsible for the northern sales region and was appointed labor relations director.

Röhler, who has played a key role in the development and introduction of the Allianz Customer Model, will also represent the property and casualty insurance division at the management board of Allianz Deutschland AG.

Source: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS)

*A version of this story ran previously in our sister publication Insurance Journal.