Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has created the new role of chief data officer, appointing Ali Shahkarami to the position.

In a company release, AGCS explained that it had created the new role after recognizing data and analytics as “important drivers for the future success of [the company].”

As chief data officer, Shahkarami will oversee the development and delivery of AGCS’s data strategy. He will align various data initiatives, tools, and investments with the company’s business and data strategy. The AGCS data solutions & architecture team will report to Shahkarami, as he expands AGCS’s data governance framework. He will report to AGCS chief operating officer Bettina Dietsche.

“Data and analytics are of vital importance for our success and for supporting our clients – not only for reporting and steering but also to boost analytic capabilities in underwriting and claims and to discover new insights and opportunities. That’s why it is so important that we created this position with a clear mandate to drive our data initiatives forward,” commented Dietsche.

Shahkarami first joined AGCS in 2012 as head of catastrophe risk research, where he was responsible for research and development activities to capture risks from man-made and natural catastrophes. He was later appointed as global capability lead on underwriting for AGCS’s digital incubator, XSE. In that role, he led activities on the digital transformation of client-facing functions.

With Shahkarami’s appointment to a new role, AGCS will announce his successor as global capability lead on underwriting for XSE at a later date.

Shahkarami obtained his PhD in structural engineering from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.