Hannover:
The Supervisory Board of Hannover has appointed Swiss Re's Jean-Jacques Henchoz (53) as the new CEO of company to succeed Ulrich Wallin with effect from Apr 1, 2019.
Since 2011, Jean-Jacques Henchoz has been in charge of the region Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Swiss Reinsurance Company, Zurich, taking responsibility for both the life and non-life business of Swiss Re in this region.
In January 2012, he was appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of the Swiss Re Group in this capacity.
Wallin became Hannover Re's chief executive officer and a member of the board of management of Hannover Re’s parent company Talanx in 2009. Under his leadership Hannover Re has grown its gross written premium from roughly €10.3 billion to around €17.8 billion and boosted its group net income from some €700 million to around €1 billion. Hannover Re's share price has more than quadrupled from €27 to €115, according to the company.
Herbert K. Haas, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Hannover Rück SE, noted: "We are profoundly grateful to Ulrich Wallin for his tremendous entrepreneurial achievements. Under his expert and prudent direction Hannover Re has significantly expanded its market position as a leading reinsurer and further enhanced its diversification and sustained profitability. In Jean-Jacques Henchoz we have secured the services of a very seasoned reinsurance manager who will continue to drive the company's successful development."
Swiss Re also today announcedthe appointment of Russell Higginbotham as the CEO, Reinsurance EMEA and Regional President EMEA and member of the Group Executive Committee, effective 1 September 2018.
Russell Higginbotham succeeds Jean-Jacques Henchoz.
Russell Higginbotham has worked for Swiss Re for 24 years in roles across multiple business areas and geographies. Most recently, he led Swiss Re's global Life & Health (L&H) Products Division, where he played a pivotal role in strengthening the company's L&H solutions offering, boosting product innovation and maintaining the growth of large L&H reinsurance transactions.