The SCOR board of directors unanimously chose Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas as the next chief executive officer of SCOR, succeeding Denis Kessler, SCOR’s current chairman and CEO.

Ribadeau-Dumas will become deputy chief executive officer of SCOR as of Jan. 1, 2021 and will join the group’s executive committee. The Board of Directors will propose that he join the board at the 2021 General Meeting, with a view to becoming chief executive officer after the general meeting in 2022.

The board of directors has decided to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive officer, a change that will come into full effect following the general meeting in the spring of 2022.

However, the board has unanimously expressed the wish that Kessler continue his work as chairman, and a resolution to this effect will be submitted to the 2021 general meeting. Kessler will remain CEO until Ribadeau-Dumas is appointed to the post in the spring of 2022.

Ribadeau-Dumas, 48, a French citizen, is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique. Having graduated top of his class from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA), he began his career at the French Council of State, before becoming adviser to the prime minister from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, he joined Thales, an electrical systems group specializing in aerospace, defense and security. In 2010, he joined CGG, a company specializing in underground exploration, as executive vice president in charge of the marine division. He was promoted to manager of the acquisitions division in 2014.

The following year, Ribadeau-Dumas joined the executive committee of Zodiac Aerospace, where he ran the aerosystems branch and became a member of the management board. In 2017, he became chief of staff to the prime minister. He is married with five children.

“Since 2002, Denis Kessler has shaped SCOR, turning it around in an outstanding way and subsequently establishing it as the world’s fourth largest reinsurer, with a rating of ‘AA-‘. By choosing Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas, a very high-profile figure, well known for his intellect and his leadership, the board of directors confirms its high level of ambition for SCOR,” said Augustin de Romanet, independent director of SCOR.

“I would like to sincerely thank Augustin de Romanet, lead independent director, as well as all the members of the nomination committee, for the extremely thorough work they have carried out over the past few months [in their search for a new CEO]. I have every confidence in Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas to ensure SCOR’s success over the coming years, and in particular to guarantee its long-term development with the twofold target of profitability and solvency. As we embark on the transition process, he can count on my full support,” commented Kessler.

“I am honored by the confidence the Board of Directors has placed in me as their choice for the next group CEO. I am thrilled to be joining SCOR – whose teams are widely recognized for their high quality — and the re/insurance sector, which is a fascinating and demanding industry. Together, serving our clients throughout the world, we will pursue SCOR’s development with passion,” said Ribadeau-Dumas.

Source: SCOR

*This story ran previously at our sister publication Insurance Journal.