Swiss Re announced that Bernhard Kaufmann will be appointed group chief risk officer, effective Oct. 1, 2025. He will take over the role from Patrick Raaflaub.
Kaufmann joins the reinsurance group from Helvetia, where he currently serves as Group Chief Risk Officer. He brings 17 years of experience in senior risk roles across the re/insurance sector.
Before joining Helvetia, Kaufmann held the CRO position at NN Group and previously served in several senior roles at Munich Re Group, including group chief risk officer. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the Technical University of Munich.
Swiss Re chairman Jacques de Vaucleroy said Kaufmann is equipped to guide Swiss Re through the evolving risk and regulatory environment. De Vaucleroy also extended appreciation to Raaflaub on behalf of the board for his contributions and offered best wishes for his future endeavors.
De Vaucleroy himself was recently re-elected as chairman of the board with 96.2% approval during the reinsurer’s annual general meeting.
Besides de Vaucleroy, other re-elected directors include Karen Gavan, Vanessa Lau, Geraldine Matchett, Joachim Oechslin, Deanna Ong, Jay Ralph, Joerg Reinhardt, Pia Tischhauser, and Larry Zimpleman – each securing between 98.9% and 99.4% of votes cast.
The compensation committee also saw the re-election of Ong, Ralph, and Reinhardt. Hübbe was newly elected to the committee. All appointments were confirmed with approval percentages exceeding 97%.
Outside of appointments, Swiss Re Life & Health Australia Limited also recently agreed to transfer its Australian direct life insurance portfolio to Hannover Life Re of Australasia Ltd (HLR Aus), part of the Hannover Re Group.
The move follows Swiss Re Group’s global decision to withdraw from its B2B2C business segment, which operates under the iptiQ brand. The agreement with HLR Aus thus marks Swiss Re’s exit from iptiQ operations in the Asia-Pacific region.
What are your thoughts on this story? Please feel free to share your comments below.
