New
Munich Re CEO Joachim Wenning has officially taken the helm of the reinsurance giant with the aim of driving innovation and opportunities amid emerging technologies.
Wenning replaced Nikolaus von Bomhard who stepped down after heading the company for 13 years. Wenning also took over as the new chairman of the board of management.
“I will be stepping into the ‘big shoes’ of my predecessor,” he said in an interview on Munich Re’s website last year.
Wenning said his new responsibility comes during “difficult times” as low interest rates had placed a “heavy burden” on Munich Re and the industry.
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“And technological developments like digitalisation and the changes this brings to customer decision-making must also be supported,” Wenning said.
“But I am sure of one thing: in the end, the opportunities for us will outweigh the risks.”
At the annual general meeting on Thursday, von Bomhard stressed how important innovation is for Munich Re.
“Our aim is to understand the opportunities and risks of new technologies earlier and better than the competition, and to develop new products and business models on the basis of this knowledge,” he said.
Regarding Munich Re’s business performance in 2016, von Bomhard said that the consolidated result of €2.6 billion was “in the upper half of our profit guidance.”
Von Bomhard said the company was “happy” with the result since profits were generated under difficult circumstances without weakening the core businesses
“A provisional estimate of business performance in the first three months of the year indicates that to date we are well on track to reach our profit target for 2017,” he said.
Munich Re will publish its figures for the first quarter on May 09.
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