The SCOR Board of Directors has appointed Swiss Re Chief Underwriting Officer Thierry Léger as chief executive officer of SCOR. Léger will take up his post as CEO of SCOR with effect from May 1, 2023.

Thierry has 25 years of experience in the reinsurance sector 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 from his position as SCOR’s CEO and from his position on the board. He is leaving the group to pursue other professional opportunities.

The Board of Directors will propose that Léger join the board at the 2023 General Meeting.

François de Varenne, executive committee member in charge of Investments, Technology, Transformation and Group Corporate Finance, has been appointed interim CEO of SCOR with immediate effect until Léger takes up his post. The board of directors has asked Kessler to lend his support to de Varenne and then Léger, to ensure the smooth running of this change in executive management.

Swiss Re’s Group Chief Executive Officer Christian Mumenthaler said: “Over the past 25 years with Swiss Re, Thierry made great contributions to many parts of our business, from Reinsurance to former Life Capital Business Unit, to Group Underwriting. Since his appointment as group CUO in 2020, he has successfully evolved our underwriting capabilities through utilizing 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 all the success for the future.”

Mumenthaler will assume 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 themes of this plan at the 2023 general meeting. His mission will be to help SCOR further consolidate its position as a leading global reinsurer.

Biography

Léger, 56, a dual French and Swiss citizen, holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) and an Executive MBA from the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland. He began his career in the civil construction industry before joining Swiss Re as an engineering underwriter in 1997.

In 2001, he moved to Swiss Re New Markets, providing 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, Léger assumed increasing responsibility for Swiss Re’s largest clients, ultimately becoming the 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 Swiss Re Executive Committee. In September 2020, he assumed the role of group chief underwriting officer. Léger is married and is the father of two young adults.

Comments from Kessler and Léger

“Acting on the proposal of the Nomination Committee, the Board of Directors has 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, SCOR’s chairman.

“Having held key positions at a major global reinsurance company, he has all the skills required to lead the SCOR group and forge a new strategic vision for the company while pursuing an underwriting policy based entirely on technical profitability,” Kessler added.

“By giving high priority to capital allocation and returns, and by practicing 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: clients, shareholders and employees,” he said. “SCOR is embarking on a new chapter in its history. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Laurent Rousseau for the contribution he has made to the group during a particularly difficult period.”

“I am very happy to be joining SCOR and am honored by the confidence the Board of Directors has placed in me by appointing me CEO. I look forward to meeting the group’s employees, clients and shareholders. I plan to actively pursue the growth of the company by continuing to develop its products and its structure,” according to Léger.

“The reinsurance sector offers many opportunities, both on the liability side with the increased demand for cover and the improvement of terms and conditions, and on the asset side with the rise in interest rates,” Léger continued. “I am convinced that SCOR is well placed to take full advantage of this favorable environment. I know that I can count on highly skilled and experienced teams and on excellent client relations. Let’s all make this journey together. I will focus all my energy on giving fresh impetus to SCOR.”

Sources: SCOR and Swiss Re