Helvetia constitutes its Executive Management Switzerland

As announced in December 2019, Martin Jara is to take over the management of Helvetia's Swiss business as CEO Switzerland on 1 May 2020. Within the Executive Management Switzerland, the Customer & Market Management area, which is to be headed up by Martin Tschopp, will be created in addition to the existing units. Hedwig Ulmer Busenhart will take over the management of the Occupational Pension Plans area from Donald Desax as of 1 July 2020.

28.04.2020 | Media releases

In December 2019, Helvetia Insurance announced that it would adjust its management structure with a view to the coming strategy period. On 1 May 2020, Martin Jara will assume responsibility for the domestic market as CEO Switzerland and a member of the Executive Management. The Swiss units "Private Pensions", "Occupational Pension Plans", "Non-Life" and "Distribution" will be consolidated within an Executive Management Switzerland.

Martin Tschopp to manage Customer & Market Management at Helvetia Switzerland
The new role of Chief Customer Officer is also to be created within the Executive Management Switzerland. This position will assume cross-departmental responsibility for customer-focused offer and process design, customer contact and market development. The development of new business models and partnerships will also take place in the Customer & Market Management area. In a first step, Smile and MoneyPark will be transferred to this area.

Martin Tschopp, who has been at the helm of Corporate Development at Helvetia since 2017, will head up the Customer and Market Management area. "With Martin Tschopp, we have gained an adept manager for the role of Chief Customer Officer and will benefit from his vast experience in areas such as customer experience and the agile development of new business models", explains Martin Jara, Helvetia's new CEO Switzerland.

Hedwig Ulmer Busenhart to be the new Head of Occupational Pension Plans
Last December, Donald Desax, Head of the Occupational Pension Plans market area, announced that he was to take retirement at his own request in 2020. As of 1 July 2020, Hedwig Ulmer Busenhart will become the new Head of Occupational Pension Plans and a member of the Executive Management Switzerland. She has headed up the Actuarial Services Life Switzerland department since 2017 and in this role was jointly responsible for the redesign of Helvetia's group life tariff last year. Since 2018, she has also led the Full Insurance working group of the Life Technical Commission of the Swiss Insurance Association and was closely involved in the discussions with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) on the structuring of the regulatory requirements for group insurance. "With Hedwig Ulmer Busenhart, a proven expert in the life insurance space with long-standing management experience and a great track record will succeed Donald Desax", comments Martin Jara.

Finance and Human Resources become part of the Extended Executive Management
Matthias Trunz and Hamiyet Dogan will supplement the Executive Management Switzerland as members of the Extended Executive Management Switzerland. Matthias Trunz will be responsible for the Finance area of the Swiss country market, while Hamiyet Dogan will lead the Human Resources area. Achim Baumstark, Group CTO, will also support the Executive Management Switzerland as a permanent observer and thus ensure the stringent implementation of Swiss IT and transformation projects in line with the strategic modernisation measures of the Group. Martin Jara is satisfied with the composition of the Executive Management Switzerland: "Helvetia is in a strong position in Switzerland to drive forward our activities in the home market in a targeted and powerful manner and to lead the Swiss business into the new strategy period."

Contact information

Analysts
Susanne Tengler
Head of Investor Relations

Phone: +41 58 280 57 79
investor.relations@helvetia.ch

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Photo Martin Tschopp (JPG)

Photo Hedwig Ulmer (JPG)

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About the Helvetia Group

In over 160 years, the Helvetia Group has grown from a number of Swiss and foreign insurance companies into a successful international insurance group. Today, Helvetia has subsidiaries in its home market Switzerland as well as in the countries that make up the Europe market area: Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain. With its Specialty Markets market area, Helvetia is also present in France and in selected regions worldwide. Some of its investment and financing activities are managed through subsidiaries and fund companies in Luxembourg. The Group is headquartered in St.Gallen, Switzerland.

Helvetia is active in the life and non-life business, and also offers customised specialty lines and reinsurance cover. Its business activities focus on retail customers as well as small and medium-sized companies and larger corporates. With some 6,800 employees, the company provides services to more than 5 million customers. With a business volume of CHF 9.45 billion, Helvetia generated an IFRS result after tax of CHF 538.1 million in financial year 2019. The registered shares of Helvetia Holding are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol HELN.

Cautionary note

This document was prepared by Helvetia Group and may not be copied, altered, offered, sold or otherwise distributed to any other person by any recipient without the consent of Helvetia Group. The German version of this document is decisive and binding. Versions of the document in other languages are made available purely for information purposes. Although all reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the facts stated herein are correct and the opinions contained herein are fair and reasonable, where any information and statistics are quoted from any external source such information or statistics should not be interpreted as having been adopted or endorsed as accurate by Helvetia Group. Neither Helvetia Group nor any of its directors, officers, employees and advisors nor any other person shall have any liability whatsoever for loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this information. The facts and information contained in this document are as up to date as is reasonably possible but may be subject to revision in the future. Neither Helvetia Group nor any of its directors, officers, employees or advisors nor any other person makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document.

This document may contain projections or other forward-looking statements related to Helvetia Group which by their very nature involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and there is a risk that predictions, forecasts, projections and other outcomes described or implied in forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include: (1) changes in general economic conditions, in particular in the markets in which we operate; (2) the performance of financial markets; (3) changes in interest rates; (4) changes in currency exchange rates; (5) changes in laws and regulations, including accounting policies or practices; (6) risks associated with implementing our business strategies; (7) the frequency, magnitude and general development of insured events; (8) mortality and morbidity rates; (9) policy renewal and lapse rates as well as (10), the realisation of economies of scale as well as synergies. We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive; when evaluating forward-looking statements, you should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Helvetia Group on the date of its publication and Helvetia Group assumes no obligation to update such statements unless otherwise required by applicable law.