Who are the most recent appointments as directors and C-levels in Belux ?

Gianni De Muynck

Gianni de Muynck left AXA Belgium for a new challenge at ING.

After spending 8 years working for the media relations and being AXA’s spokesperson, Gianni de Muynck has recently started a new chapter in the Communication & Brand Experience department of ING.

At ING, he met up with his former mentor, Laurent Winnock.

Erik Weekers

Erik Weekers will become the new CEO of the Federatie voor Verzekerings- en Financiële tussenpersonen (FVF), as of 1 January 2023. He will succeed to Kelly Schamphelaere.

Erik has been appointed by the FVF’s board thanks to his valuable experience in the insurance sector and particularly in management. After having started his career at AnHyp and then at AXA Belgium, Erik led Axfin. After that, he launched Stronger, his coaching and training agency. As part of his job, he trained several banking agents, brokers and insurance companies. He is also an active member of Aquilae.

Philippe Van Belle

Another type of appointment was that of Philippe Van Belle as CIO of the Year 2022. The award was given by DataNews magazine in recognition of the “CIO who demonstrates strategic vision, leadership, personality and the ability to contribute to an organization’s business strategy.”

This award recognizes Philippe’s 35-year career at AG and his dedication to the “Replatforming” project. Conducted last April, this project provides AG with a modern and innovative platform that places it more than ever at the forefront of digitalization issues.

A few days ago, Silke Lautenschläger, the current CEO of Ergo Insurance and DKV Belgium, announced that she was leaving the company. After having worked for 12 years within the Ergo Group, including 5 years as CEO of Ergo and DKV, Silke wishes to devote herself to the foundation of which she is Chair of the Board of Trustees, Deutsche Herzstiftung.

Sebastian Schimdtke

Ruth Verstraete

Sebastian Schimdtke, Chief Administration Officer of Ergo, will take over the management in January 2023.

At the same time, Ruth Verstraete, Chief Risk Officer of DKV Belgium, will take over the management of the company.

Mabel Bolier

The insurer AIG is also undergoing change with the appointment of Mabel Bolier in early December. She has become Head of Claims for France, Belgium and Luxembourg. As a result, she has also joined the board of directors.

Graduated from the University NCOI and from the University Enaco, Mabel Bolier has joined the group in 2015 as Life and Health insurance claims Manager. Then, she handled financial risk claims for Belgium and The Netherlands.

Caroline Bertrand

Caroline Bertrand has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer and Chief HR Officer of GIG Gulf, formerly AXA Gulf.

Caroline started her career in the marketing department of AXA Belgium 20 years ago. She then joined AXA Group, based in Paris. Several years later, she leaved Paris to join AXA Gulf, based in Mexico, as Chief Marketing Officer.

Sources:

• Assuropolis, Gianni De Muynck, porte-parole d’AXA, rejoint ING
• LinkedIn, Gianni De Muynck
• Assuropolis, Erik Weekers devient le nouveau CEO de FVF
• Assuropolis, AG : Philippe Van Belle est le CIO of the year 2022
• Assuropolis, La Belge Caroline Bertrand fait carrière chez GIG Gulf 
• LinkedIn, Silke Lautenschläger
• News Assurances Pro, Nomination : Mabel Bolier rejoint le comité de direction d’AIG

Who are the most recently appointed directors and C-levels in Belux? October was a month of renewal, especially for European and international organizations.

Erik Heggen

Erik Heggen has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer of Yuzzu. He will take office on 1^st December 2022, after approval of the Belgian National Bank. He succeeds to Hélène Portegies.

He started his career at AXA in 2016 in the Distribution department. Later on, he joined the head office of the group in Paris and greatly contributed to the development of the ‘Ambition 2020’ strategy. Mid-2022, he joined Yuzzu as Chief Customer Experience Officer, in charge of marketing, online sales and partnerships.

Erik Heggen graduated as a Commercial Engineer at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Christophe Hamal

Christophe Hamal becomes Chief Executive Officer of Baloise Belgium. Member of the Executive Committee since May 2022, he succeeds Henk Janssen. Henk Jassen will retire in January 2023 and will in the meantime ensure the transition with Christophe Hamal.

As a member of the Executive Committee, he focuses on the strategic objectives of the company and meets various departments and colleagues. Before that, he was CEO of Buy Way, a Belgian fintech, for five years. He also has considerable experience in financial consultancy.

Christophe Hamal has a master’s degree in Management Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and an MBA from the Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).

Hélène Portegies

Hélène Portegies, former Chief Executive Officer of Yuzzu, will be the new Chief People and Communication Officer of Allianz Benelux. She will therefore be a member of the Board of Management.

Prior to her appointment, Hélène Portegies was CEO of Yuzzu for five years. She has considerable experience in financial services, having been in charge of product development, marketing, operations, and IT.

As Chief People and Communication Officer, she will be in charge of human resources management, communication, branding, and sustainability of Allianz Benelux.

Lize-Mari Barnes

Lize-Mari Barnes has been appointed General Manager of Swiss Re Luxembourg. She succeeds Ivo Hux and will take office as from 1^st January 2023.

Lize-Mari Barnes has joined the group for more than 16 years now. She became Chief Financial Officer Reinsurance EMEA in May 2012. She will maintain this position, in addition to her new appointment as General Manager.

Lutz Wilhelmy

On 7 October, the European Actuarial Association (EAA) elected Lutz Wilhelmy, a German native working in Switzerland, as its new President.

Lutz has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2017 and has also been a Full Member, Delegate to the Professionalism Committee, Honorary Treasurer, etc. In addition, Lutz is Vice President of the Swiss counterpart association and was a member of the EIOPA Advisory Expert Group. The new EAA President has a master’s degree in Theoretical Physics and a Ph.D. in Mathematics, both from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich.

Jean-Paul Servais

End of October, Jean-Paul Servais, the actual President of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), has been elected President for two years of the OICV-IOSCO, International Organisation of Securities Commissions.

A Belgian presidency is the first time in the history of the organization. The objective of the OICV-IOSCO is to promote sound and proper market practices worldwide and thereby contribute to the protection of investors and the integrity of financial markets. The organisation controls 95% of the world’s financial sector.

Since 2016, Jean-Paul Servais has been Vice-President of the international organisation. Additionally, he heads the European Regional Committee, has chaired the Finance and Audit Committee, and led a working group on the regulation of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). On behalf of the organisation, he has also served as Chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, which oversees the work on sustainability reporting by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and as Co-Chair of the Monitoring Group on Audit.

Sources:

• Assuropolis, Erik Heggen est nommé CEO de l’assureur direct Yuzzu
• Assuropolis, Hélène Portegies nouveau membre du Board of Management d’Allianz Benelux
• Actuary, Actuarial Association of Europe elects new Chairperson
• Assuropolis, Christophe Hamal devient CEO de Baloise en Belgique
• Paperjam, Lize-Mari Barnes à la tête de Swiss Re Luxembourg
• Assuropolis, Jean-Paul Servais élu nouveau président de l’organisation internationale des commissions de valeurs