Michel Lies to Succeed Stefan Lippe as Swiss Re CEO

Swiss Re has named Michel M. Lies, currently chairman of global partnerships, as its new group chief executive, effective Feb. 1.

Lies will succeed Stefan Lippe, who announced in December he would step down.

Swiss Re's board of directors also announced Moses Ojeisekhoba will join the reinsurer as CEO of Reinsurance Asia and regional

president for Asia, effective March 15. Martyn Parker, currently CEO Reinsurance Asia, will return to Europe, his future role to be announced.

Lies has experience in both life and non-life reinsurance and insurance from the various roles held at Swiss Re for more than 30 years. In his current role as chairman of global partnerships, he focuses on building and deepening long-term relationships with public sector stakeholders, governments and nongovernment organizations, with a focus on emerging markets.

Prior to becoming chairman of global partnerships, Lies served as Swiss Re's head of client markets, where he was in charge of all client relationships worldwide, and was a member of the group's executive committee from 2005. Before that, he was head of the Europe division from 2000 to 2005 and head of the Latin America division from 1998 to 2000.

Ojeisekhoba will report to Christian Mumenthaler, CEO of reinsurance. He will also become regional president, representing Swiss Re in Asia, and join the group executive committee.

Ojeisekhoba joins Swiss Re from Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., where he had been headed the Asia-Pacific operations since 2009, and was responsible for the strategy and repositioning of Chubb's business in the region.

He has spent 16 years with Chubb in various roles in the United States, Europe and Asia. Prior to that, he worked with Unico American Corp. and Prudential in the United States.

In December, A.M. Best Co. upgraded the financial strength rating to A+ (Superior) from A (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings to aa- from a+ of Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries (Best's News Service, Dec. 20, 2011). Concurrently, A.M. Best upgraded the senior and subordinated debt of Swiss Re and its subsidiaries. The outlook for all ratings has been revised to stable from positive.

The rating upgrades reflect A.M. Best's acknowledgement of the successful measures taken by Swiss Re following major investment losses in 2008. These measures have reduced the level of risk in Swiss Re's investment portfolio, which along with the early payback of the convertible perpetual capital instrument in 2010, have created a more reinsurance focused enterprise. The success of these measures is quantified in the strong risk-based capitalization and excellent underwriting results of the group over the past several years.

The rating upgrades also take into consideration Swiss Re's limited exposure to the eurozone debt crisis and investments in eurozone banks, according to A.M. Best.

Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. currently has a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A++ (Superior).

(By David Pilla, international editor, BestWeek: David.Pilla@ambest.com)