insurance ceos - russell reynolds associates · route to the top for current group and divisional...

Insurance ceOs

rOute tO the tOpDna Of tOp perfOrmers

recent shIft In ceO prOfIles

2014

R408028 - rr-0014 - RRA Insurance Infographic - draft 04.indd 1 13/08/2014 12:31

2

methODOlOgy

Russell Reynolds Associates profiled the background and experience of 65 Chief Executive Officers (CEO) at 38 insurance companies globally, including 38 Group CEOs and 27 Divisional CEOs.

The analysis focused on:

� Route to the top for current Group and Divisional insurance CEOs.

� DNA of Group CEOs at top-performing insurance companies.

� Recent shift in Group and Divisional CEO profiles, with resultant future trends.


3

rOute tO the tOp fOr current Insurance ceOs

� In insurance, more than in other sectors, the majority of CEOs were appointed internally.

� International experience is important but not essential. Around six in ten CEOs have worked in multiple countries.

� There is little gender diversity at the top, with only one female Divisional CEO in the sample and no females at the Group CEO level.

Internal vs. externalGroup CEos

Divisional CEos

For Comparison

FTsE 100 CEos

71%

81%

29%

19%

Internal

Internal

External

External

38 grOup ceOs

27 DIvIsIOnal ceOs 1 FEmalE

64 malEs

External

Internal

67%

33%

InternatIOnal experIenceGroup CEos

Divisional CEos

yes 61%

yes 56%


4

functIOnal OrIentatIOn Of majOr leaDershIp rOles helD acrOss ceO career

26%

89%16%22%

34%

33%66%

52%

32%

56%

18% 89%

Operations & IT

Business Development/

P&L Role

Management Consulting

Finance

Risk/Underwriting/Actuarial

Investment Management

Group CEOs

Divisional CEOs

sectOr In whIch the ceOs spent majOrIty Of theIr career

30 CEos nEvEr havE workED ouTsiDE oF insuranCE

Group CEos Divisional CEos

74% 78%

8% 11%8% 7%5%5% 4%

Insurance Insurance

Banking Banking

Management ConsultingManagement

Consulting


OtherOther

rOute tO the tOp fOr current Insurance ceOs

� Experience is predominantly in-sector, with almost half of the CEOs having worked exclusively in insurance.

� With an absence of diverse sector experience, most insurance CEOs have held multiple functional roles, with an average of three.

� A mix of roles in business development, finance and/or risk is the most common functional background of CEOs, at both the Group and Divisional levels.

avEraGE numbEr oF DiFFErEnT FunCTional lEaDErship rolEs hElD

A COMBInATIOn OF P&L LEADERshIP AnD FInAnCE ExPERIEnCE Is ThE MOsT COMMOn ROUTE TO ThE CEO ROLE

3


5

Dna Of ceOs at tOp-perfOrmIng Insurance cOmpanIes

The analysis below compares profiles of Group CEOs of the upper-quartile insurance companies with the rest of the Group CEO sample. Upper-quartile insurers returned at least 150% total return to shareholders between April 2009 and April 2014:1

� More than two-thirds of CEOs at the top-performing insurance companies were appointed between 2008 and 2009 during the financial crisis. The weaker-performing companies typically changed their CEOs more recently.

� CEOs at top-performing insurers are more likely to have held roles in finance, business development, and operations and IT.

� International experience is more common in CEOs at top-performing insurance companies.

year appOInteD 2008–2009 DurinG FinanCial Crisis

2010 anD laTEr

4 in 10 CEos aT Top-pErForminG insuranCE CompaniEs hElD a CFo rolE aT somE poinT in ThEir CarEEr

functIOnal experIence2 InternatIOnal experIence

+16%+19%

+16%+11%

Operations & IT

Business Development/

P&L Role

Finance Risk/Underwriting/

Actuarial

bEForE 2008Upper

Quartile Upper Quartile

Upper Quartile

Remaining Companies

Remaining Companies

Remaining Companies

10%32%

70% 20%18% 50%

all CEos aT Top-pErForminG insuranCE CompaniEs prEviously hElD a p&l rolE

4 In 10

morE ExpEriEnCE in

-6%


lEss ExpEriEnCE in

1. Factiva database, May 20142. statistics given in percentage points

uppEr QuarTilE

rEmaininG CompaniEs

yes 70%

yes 57%


6

recent shIft In Insurance ceO prOfIles

The analysis below compares Group CEOs and Divisional CEOs appointed in the last two years with the rest of the sample:

� Over the last two years, there has been increased emphasis on the ability to transform the business and deliver results in a low-margin environment; understand and set strategy, taking (weak) capital positions into account; and drive innovation through the business.

� Going forward, we are likely to see even more importance assigned to innovation, alongside attention to technology. International experience also will be at a premium.

� Recent CEO appointments have seen a greater willingness to consider external candidates, but insurance “lifers” dominate the ranks of recently appointed CEOs.

external appOIntments

Appointed before 2012

share Of ceOs whO spent theIr entIre career In Insurance

Appointed since 2012



65%40%

manaGEmEnT ConsulTinG is almosT ThE solE sourCE oF ouT-oF-sECTor

TalEnT For rECEnTly appoinTED CEos

Decreased focus on

sales and Marketing



17% 24%

share Of ceOs wIth cOnsultIng backgrOunD

functIOnal experIence


almosT halF oF CEos appoinTED sinCE 2012 havE hElD ExpliCiT businEss DEvElopmEnT rolEs

avEraGE numbEr oF DiFFErEnT FunCTional lEaDErship rolEs hElD aCross ThE EnTirE CarEEr For CEos appoinTED sinCE 2012

2.7

Increased focus on

Business Development

Operations and IT

FinanceEqual focus on

Risk

P&L Ownership

areas Of IncreaseD ImpOrtance In Our recent ceO wOrk

� Transform the business and deliver results in a low-margin environment

� Understand and set strategy, often taking capital position into account

expecteD future areas Of fOcus � Innovation, especially in terms of distribution channels

� Technology, not only operations

� International experience

19%41%


Russell Reynolds Associates is a premier provider of senior-level executive search and assessment, serving clients globally for 45 years. We advise on recruiting and retaining outstanding and impactful leaders and help our clients mitigate the risks associated with senior-level appointments.

BOARD ADvIsORy sERvICEs

ExECUTIvE sEARCh AnD LEADERshIP AssEssMEnT

CULTURE AssEssMEnT

� Board composition

� CEO succession planning

� Executive assessment and benchmarking

� succession planning

� Digital transformation

� Diagnosis of organizational culture

� Assessment of cultural fit

� Multi-culture integration

We are a private firm with 44 offices across north and south America, Europe and Asia/Pacific, covering all major business regions, including Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia, the Middle East and the south Pacific.

We leverage our collective expertise to identify and assess leaders who can support the growth and success of our client organizations:

� Our 350 experienced consultants are supported by a global research network.

� We lead 3,500 engagements annually across a broad range of industries and functional roles.

Insurance practIce: Our cOnsultantsAMsTERDAMRené de Zwaan

BARCELOnADiego Esteban

BOsTOnMark AdamsFrancois KouroriezDave seeley

BRUssELsPascale simon

BUEnOs AIREsPedro Ancarola

ChICAGOLyndon A. TaylorPaul ZellnerLimore Zilberman

hAMBURGAnnette Dölker

KnOWLEDGE MAnAGER, FInAnCIAL sERvICEsAnna slodka-Turner

hOnG KOnGDavid hughesGuillaume Lévinicolas MansetAshley Wallace

IsTAnBULÖzlem Pehlivan

LOnDOnsiobhan CaragherToby Crosthwaitesuzannah Mottahed

MExICO CITyEugenio Riquelme

MILAnFlavio Zollo

MUMBAIFiroze Patel

nEW DELhIsanjay Kapoor

nEW yORKshawn Banerji Justin Cerilli

PARIsPaul JaegerJulie Rullier

sãO PAULORaphael de CarvalhoRenato Furtado

sEOULKiwook Kim

shAnGhAIAnny Kwok

sInGAPOREJames DigginesGrace Lusuchi sethi

sTOCKhOLMhenrik Engsner Carl schander

syDnEyheidi Mason

TOKyOsteven Greenberg

TOROnTOshawn Cooperstephanie sykes

WARsAWDorota Czarnota

ZüRIChKatharina hesseJasmine Jennysabine MorantMatthias Oberholzer


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