New Group structure internationalises management and strengthens collaboration

Helvetia is adjusting its corporate structure as of 1 July 2024 to strengthen the Group's international orientation. At the same time, there will be personnel changes on the Group Executive Board. On the basis of its own strengths, Helvetia is thus laying the foundation for continuing to create value for its customers, employees and shareholders.

16.05.2024 | Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

Helvetia is adjusting its corporate structure to better accommodate its shift in recent years from a Swiss insurer to a group with a strong international presence. The new configuration will strengthen the company's international orientation, streamline its management and ensure customer proximity. Helvetia is thus taking the next strategic step in becoming an integrated international insurance group. The organisational changes will allow to better utilise the expertise found throughout the Group and thus continue to create additional value for its customers, employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders.

As of 1 July 2024, Helvetia's Group Executive Board will consist of the following segments:

Spain will become a separate segment and be represented on the Group Executive Board, a change that reflects the importance of Helvetia's second largest market.
The market units Germany, Italy and Austria form a separate segment under the name GIAM (German, Italian and Austrian Markets).
Switzerland and Specialty Markets remain separate segments.

In addition, the following Group functions will be represented on the Group Executive Board:

Group Risk Management will be strengthened as a new Group function at Group level.
Group Finance is granted more competences for the financial steering of the Group.
Group Asset Management will manage all investments by means of centralised governance.
Group Technology focuses on developing forward-looking technology solutions, driving innovation and realising economies of scale across the Group.
Group Human Resources will become a separate function in the Group Executive Board to reflect the strategic importance of employee topics.
The previous Group Executive Board units of Group Corporate Centre and Group Actuary will be discontinued, and their functions reallocated.

"In recent years, Helvetia has transformed itself from a Swiss insurer into a group with a strong international presence. The new Group structure now enables us to better align Helvetia's management with this positive development. The international markets will be better represented on the Group Executive Board. At the same time, we are strengthening the group functions, but retaining full local market and local earnings responsibility", explains Fabian Rupprecht, Group CEO of Helvetia.

Juan Estallo, Thomas Neusiedler, Sandra Hürlimann and Esther Roman to join the Group Executive Board
Helvetia's Group Executive Board will undergo various changes:

Juan Estallo will head the Spain segment. The Spanish citizen was previously CEO of Liberty Seguros Europe and will join Helvetia as of 1 September 2024. Until then, Fabian Rupprecht will manage the new segment ad interim.
Austrian citizen Thomas Neusiedler will be the new head of the GIAM segment, which he will manage in addition to his role as CEO of Helvetia Austria. He will join the Group Executive Board as of 1 July 2024.
Sandra Hürlimann, previously Head of Analytics & Group Solutions at Helvetia Group and a Swiss-Hungarian dual citizen, will take over the role of Group CTO on 1 July 2024 and become a member of the Group Executive Board.
Esther Roman will become Head of Group Human Resources as of 16 September 2024. A Spanish citizen, she previously worked as Group Head of Human Resources and Communications and a member of the Executive Board of Mibelle Group. Roland Bentele will head the unit until Esther Roman starts.
The Head of Group Risk Management has not yet been appointed. Information about these positions will be provided in due course. Peter Bamert, Group CRO, will head the unit ad interim.

Roland Bentele, Head Corporate Centre, and Markus Gemperle, CEO Europe, decided some time ago to take early retirement at the end of the year. Roland Bentele has been at Helvetia since 2014. Markus Gemperle has worked for the company for a total of 36 years. Both will leave the Group Executive Board on 30 June 2024 but stay with the company until the end of the year to help manage the transition.

Beat Müller, Head Group Actuary, will also take early retirement on 1 April 2025. He has worked for Helvetia since 1990 and will step down from the Group Executive Board on 30 June 2024. Nevertheless, he will continue to provide support in various areas and committees until his retirement.

Achim Baumstark, Group CTO, who has been responsible for technology topics for the Group and the Swiss market for the past four years has expressed the desire to concentrate on the role of CTO Switzerland in the coming years. He will therefore leave the Group Executive Board at the end of June 2024.

"Roland Bentele, Markus Gemperle, Achim Baumstark and Beat Müller have played a key role in shaping Helvetia's development in recent years, thus enabling the positive development of the company. The fact that they are leaving the Group Executive Board also marks a generational change. I would like to thank them in advance for their great commitment to Helvetia and wish those who are retiring all the best for the next phase of their lives", said Fabian Rupprecht, paying tribute to the departing members of the Executive Board. He adds: "At the same time, I am delighted that Juan Estallo, Thomas Neusiedler, Sandra Hürlimann and Esther Roman will be joining the Group Executive Board. They all have the necessary expertise to drive forward Helvetia's development in the coming years. Together, we will now set the course for Helvetia's future as part of the strategy review that has already been communicated. I look forward to working with them and wish them every success in their new role. With the newly appointed Group Executive Board members, Helvetia is also taking a further step in terms of diversity in various respects."

Organisational chart of Helvetia Group, 1 July 2024

Contact information

Analysts
Philipp Schüpbach
Head of Investor Relations
Phone: +41 58 280 59 23
investor.relations@helvetia.ch

Media
Jonas Grossniklaus
Head of Corporate Communications
Phone: +41 58 280 50 33
media.relations@helvetia.ch

Downloads & Links

CV new Group ExB members (PDF)

Ad hoc announcement (PDF)

Media releases overview

About the Helvetia Group

Helvetia Group, with its headquarters in St. Gallen, has grown since 1858 to become a successful insurance group with over 13,800 employees and more than 7,2 million customers. It has been enabling its customers to seize opportunities and minimise risks for all that time – Helvetia is there for them when it matters. Helvetia is the best partner and is present everywhere that protection needs arise, with insurance, pension and investment solutions from a single source as well as simple products and processes. The insurance group knows the business, from mobile phone insurance and insurance cover for the Gotthard Base Tunnel to the long-term investment of customer assets. Helvetia develops and opens up new business models with enthusiasm and drives forward its own business in a powerful and future-oriented manner. It acts with foresight and responsibility in everything it does: for the benefit of its shareholders, customers and employees as well as its partners, society and the environment.
Helvetia is the leading all-lines insurer in Switzerland. In the Europe segment comprising Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain, the company has firmly rooted market positions for generating above-average growth. In the Specialty Markets segment, Helvetia offers tailored special insurance and reinsurance cover worldwide. With a business volume of CHF 11.3 billion, Helvetia generated underlying earnings of CHF 372.5 million and an IFRS net income of CHF 301.3 million in the 2023 financial year. The shares of Helvetia Holding AG are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Disclaimer

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.