Management Profiles – Zurich Switzerland

Juan Beer has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Zurich Switzerland since Februar 2018. He first joined Zurich Insurance Group in 1987 as an apprentice and since then has held various positions in Underwriting, Sales and Relationship Management as well as in Market Segment and Country Management. This includes a series of senior leadership and management positions as Chief Executive Officer of Zurich's Global Corporate business in Switzerland, Head of International Program Business for Zurich's Commercial Insurance business in Spain, Global Chief Underwriting Officer for Zurich's Global Corporate business, Global Chief Underwriting Officer for Zurich’s Property, Engineering Lines and Marine portfolio and Global Head of the P&C Technical Center. In his most recent role as Zurich's Global Head of Group Reinsurance, he successfully redirected and executed the Group's reinsurance strategies enabling protection of Zurich's strong capital base and earnings.

Juan Beer holds a Commercial and Insurance Diploma from Zurich Business School and completed an Advanced Management Program at IESE Business School in 2013.

Urs Lüthy was appointed Head Commercial Insurance at Zurich Switzerland in August 2022. Before this he was Head Customer & Distribution Management for Commercial Insurance Switzerland from 2017. He began his career as an underwriter with XL Insurance America in Dallas and New York. Urs Lüthy joined Zurich in 2002 as Head of Property for International Programs, following which he took on the role of Global Relationship Leader. In 2012, he was appointed Chief Underwriting Officer for corporate business in Switzerland. Urs Lüthy holds a Master of Business Administration from Vlerick Business School/University of St.Gallen. 

René Harlacher has been Chief Underwriting Officer since August 2016. Prior to joining Zurich Switzerland, he served in different leadership roles for Axa Winterthur, including Head of Underwriting, Head of Business Development Property & Casualty and, most recently, Head of Commercial Customers. In addition, René Harlacher previously worked as a consultant in the insurance and IT industries. He has a Master of Science in Business Informatics from Zurich University.

Mauricio Pérez has been appointed Head of Brokers & Partnerships at Zurich's Swiss business unit as of April 1, 2025. He began his career at Zurich in 2000 as a private, retirement provision and corporate customer advisor at the general agency in Berne. Subsequently, he served as Head of Distribution Private Customers, Head of Distribution Private and Corporate Customers, and Head of Sales Development and Management. From 2022 to March 2025, he headed the Market Region East. Mauricio holds a degree in business administration. He has also completed various additional training and education programs, such as CAS courses in Digital Insurance Transformation and in Insurance Management at the University of St. Gallen.

Sandro Meyer joined Zurich in 1994 and launched his career in what was formerly SBU Life International. Between 2001 and 2006, he built up the Zurich Employee Benefit Network (ZEBN) within Global Corporate, International Program Business. In 2006, he relocated to Chicago for Global Corporate, where he served as Senior Vice President, Customer Relationship Management. In August 2010, Sandro Meyer assumed the role of Head of Corporate Life & Pensions (CLP), before being appointed Head of Life in November 2016. He has a bachelor’s degree in business management.

Thorsten Schneidewind has been Chief Claims Officer at Zurich Switzerland since May 1, 2024. Prior to this, Thorsten Schneidewind was CEO of Orion Rechtsschutzversicherung in Basel. Before joining Orion, he was Head of the Central Market Region, where he managed over 20 general agencies and was also Head of Financial and Pension Consulting at Zurich Switzerland. He started his career in the insurance industry in 2003 Allianz Lebensversicherungs-AG  in Germany and moved to Zurich in 2008 to work in various management positions for a competitor in the Swiss insurance market. Thorsten Schneidewind is a qualified banker and insurance broker and studied business administration in Berlin.

Andreas Henke has been Chief Financial Officer at Zurich Switzerland since February 2020. Andreas Henke joined from Group Treasury by January 2019 as Chief Risk Officer.He has been Treasurer EMEA since 2015. In this role, he has driven the strategic implementation of Solvency 2 as well as taken care of topical issues such as Brexit and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). In addition, he worked on capital topics together with our European management teams and their regulators. Prior to this, he served in various Group Finance roles and has been an insurance auditor with KPMG and also a Corporate underwriter with Allianz in Germany. Andreas holds a degree in Business Administration and is a Swiss Qualified Accountant and Auditor as well as a certified Financial Risk Manager (GARP).

Michaela Christian Gartmann has been Chief Human Resources Officer Switzerland since January 1, 2024. After holding professional positions at ABB and GE Money Bank, among others, Michaela Christian Gartmann most recently worked at PwC Switzerland for over ten years as Head of Human Capital. She is a proven HR professional with over 20 years’ experience in various HR roles and with a convincing track record - especially in relation to culture, leadership and talent development. Michaela Christian Gartmann holds a Master of Advanced Studies in HR Management.

Thomas Steiger has been leading Distribution at Zurich Switzerland since February 2017. Before this appointment he led the newly created Chief of Staff department where he was responsible for the business unit’s strategy as well as Marketing, Corporate Responsibility and Communications. Prior to this role, he served as Head of Retail from November 2010 to March 2016. Thomas Steiger started his career in the insurance industry in 1992 where he served in various roles including Head of Insurance Solutions at COMIT AG. He also held different positions within Sales, Product Management, Marketing and Operations. He gained international experience working in Asia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States. Thomas Steiger has a degree in insurance management from the University of St. Gallen. He has extensive experience in the fields of life and general insurance, assets, sales and IT/operations, and knows the Swiss banking market inside and out.

Andreas Fischer has been Chief Investment Officer for Switzerland since 1 November 2018. He joined Zurich in 2009 as Regional Investment Manager for Southern Europe and Africa. Over time, he gained additional responsibilities for Austria, Ireland Life and Group Treasury. In addition, he built up a credit analysis team in 2017 and 2018, during his time as Spanish CIO a.i. in Barcelona. Prior to joining Zurich, he held various positions in leading global investment banks. He started his professional career at Goldman Sachs Bank in Zurich, where he was responsible for regulatory reporting. Andreas holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Zurich and is a CFA Charterholder.

Claudia Biedermann has headed the Legal department of the General Counsel Switzerland since May 1, 2021. She began her career at Zurich in 2007 as Senior Legal Counsel, was the Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Farmers Insurance Group, and then headed the Governance and Corporate Law team at the Corporate Center. Biedermann took on the role as Company Secretary & Head of Corporate Governance in 2018. She studied at the University of Zurich and graduated with a licentiate in laws (lic. iur.). In addition, she holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business Law from King's College London. Biedermann is licensed to practice law in the Canton of Zurich.

Stefan Pleisch has headed up the Information & Technology division since February 2023. Before joining Zurich Switzerland, he led the IT business unit at Concordia Health Insurance and Retirement Provision Solutions from 2014 as a member of Executive Management, and also established the Innovation Lab there. Prior to this, he spent several years as Head of Division at ELCA Informatik AG in Zurich.

Stefan Pleisch studied computer science at EPFL in Lausanne, at ETH Zurich and at the University of Waterloo in Canada, and gained a doctorate from EPFL in 2002. He also worked in research in the IBM Research Lab in Rüschlikon, at the EPFL and at Cornell University in the USA. He has a Global Executive MBA from INSEAD Business School.

Claudia Flury has been Chief Risk Officer of Zurich Switzerland since May 2020. Prior to this, she held various management positions at the Zurich Group, amongst others within the Group Audit and most recently as Head of Planning and Performance Management of Zurich Switzerland. She started her career with PwC in 2002 and worked as an auditor in Switzerland and London before joining the Zurich Group in 2012. Claudia Flury holds a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management from the Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne (EHL) and is a certified public accountant.