Management Profiles – Zurich Switzerland

Joachim Masur joined Zurich Switzerland as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the beginning of 2012. He joined Zurich as a Group Controller at the end of 2005 and was appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Global Life segment in 2010. Before joining Zurich, Mr. Masur was a partner at KPMG as well as Ernst & Young in Germany. Joachim Masur studied economics at Bamberg University in Germany and is a certified auditor and tax auditor.

Before being appointed Head of Private Customers in early 2016, Christoph Gaus served as Chief Marketing Officer at Zurich Switzerland from September 2012 to March 2016. He previously spent 14 years in a number of different roles at Schweizerische Mobiliar Versicherungsgesellschaft AG in Berne. Particular career highlights include recently being responsible for mobility insurance in Underwriting, the central region in Agency Sales, and multichannel and customer management in Marketing. Mr. Gaus studied business management and business IT at the University of Berne, Switzerland.

Adrian Kollegger has been Head of Commercial Customers since April 2016. Prior to this role, he served as Head of Agents & Personal Lines Distribution from May 2012 to March 2016. He previously led the Commercial Business & Brokers area. Since joining Zurich in 2001, Adrian Kollegger has taken on various roles, including his function as strategic assistant to the CEO of continental Europe and subsequently (between 2003 and 2010) as Head of International Program Business and Head of Customer & Distribution Management, Zurich Global Corporate in Spain. Adrian Kollegger studied business management at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, with a focus on risk management and insurance.

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.

Christine Theodorovics is Head of Life/CEO ZLIC and member of the Executive Management of Zurich Switzerland since April 2016. She has been CEO of Global Life Austria and member of their Executive Board since 2013. Previously, Christine Theodorovic was Head of Business Development for Independent Financial Advisors/Brokers in Global Life’s central team. She has an MBA from Vienna University of Economics and Business, a Master of Arts in European Economic Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges/Belgium, as well as a degree in Banking from the Swiss Finance Institute in Zurich.

Before his appointment as Head of Sales & Distribution in 2016, Sergio Capuzzi served as Head of Commercial Business & Brokers from May 2012 to March 2016. He joined Zurich in 1985 as a consultant to private and corporate customers. He was subsequently team leader in Underwriting Motor and then in charge of the mechanical engineering/metal target group in Zurich Continental Europe Corporate (CEC). Sergio Capuzzi subsequently held the position of Account Manager for domestic business and in 2008 became responsible for domestic business at Zurich Global Corporate Switzerland. After one year in the United Kingdom working for Zurich Global Corporate in Europe, he transferred to Zurich Switzerland as Regional Head of Commercial Business & Brokers in German-speaking Switzerland in December 2010.

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.
He has a bachelor’s degree in business management.

Max Schönholzer assumed the role as Chief Claims Officer in December 2012. He has worked at Zurich since 2002, spending his first ten years working in the corporate business at Global Corporate. Between 2005 and 2007, he served as CEO of Global Corporate in Benelux, then Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Global Corporate in Europe. From 2011 to 2012, he was COO of Global Corporate worldwide. Before joining Zurich, Mr. Schönholzer worked at McKinsey & Co. He studied physics and business management.

Christoph Borgmann was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Zurich Switzerland in 2013. He joined Zurich in 2006 as Senior Strategist after leaving consulting firm McKinsey & Company. In 2007, Christoph Borgmann assumed the role of Group Operations Manager in Finance in Zurich Group and has served as Chief Financial Officer at Zurich Germany since 2010.
He studied economics at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and completed an advanced program in leadership development at the Harvard Business School in Boston, United States.

Bettina Bornmann joined Zurich Life Switzerland as Chief Financial Officer in spring 2015. She previously worked at Swiss Life Group and between 2009 and 2011 she had been Chief Financial Officer for Swiss Life Private Placement Life Insurance and between 2011 and 2015 she was Head of Group Controlling. Previously, she had gained valuable experience at UBS and thereafter at KPMG, where she worked from 1998 to 2008, most recently as Head of Corporate Finance Switzerland. Bettina Bornmann completed her studies of economics at the University of Zurich with a Master of Arts UZH.

Markus Bechtiger has been in charge of the Human Resources (HR) division at Zurich Switzerland since March 2015. He began his career in 1980 as an apprentice at Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. After working in various roles both at home and abroad, he moved to UBS. There he held a number of different national and international management positions. In 2014 he returned to Zurich, where he became Head of HR Services, with responsibility for the further development of the HR organization and service model within Switzerland. Markus Bechtiger studied business economics at the Higher School for Economics and Administration and completed an Executive Master in Human Resources Leadership (Rudgers University, New Jersey, and Bocconi University, Milan).

Thomas Steiger has been leading the newly created Chief of Staff department at Zurich Switzerland since April 2016. He is 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 and 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.

Patricio Verdieri has been Chief Risk Officer at Zurich Switzerland since April 2016. He has extensive risk management knowledge and wide experience within the finance industry. Patricio Verdieri has been CRO for Zurich Life Insurance Company (ZLIC) and Zurich Life Switzerland since July 2014, and CRO for Zurich Germany from 2013 until 2014. Before joining Zurich in June 2007 as Risk Officer, he held various risk management positions with UBS and Habib Bank in Switzerland, and was working as Strategy Consultant at McKinsey. Patricio Verdieri is holding a master’s degree in finance from the University of St. Gallen and is a Certified Financial Risk Manager.

Marc Monnier has been leading the Legal & Compliance department as General Counsel Switzerland since June 2016. Since joining Zurich in 2002, he has taken on various roles in the legal departments of Zurich Switzerland and Zurich Insurance Group, Corporate Center. Most recently, Marc Monnier served as Senior Legal Counsel for Zurich Life Insurance Company Ltd. He received a Master of Laws (lic. iur.) degree from the University of Fribourg in 1998 and was admitted to the bar in Switzerland (Canton of Solothurn) in 2001. He also earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005.