Swiss Re is bringing in former financial market-regulator and former executive at the company as its new chief risk officer.
The reinsurance giant disclosed on May 7 that Patrick Raaflaub will take on his new role with the company as of Sept. 1, 2014. Raaflaub was most recently CEO of FINMA, the Swiss government organization that maintains regulatory authority over insurance companies, banks and stock exchanges, among other financial industry sectors.
Raaflaub headed FINMA from 2009 through 2014, but served in various positions with Swiss Re before then, including chief financial officer of Swiss Re Italia and regional chief financial officer for Europe and Asia, according to the company.
Walter Kielholz, Swiss Re’s chairman, credited Raaflaub in a statement with serving a vital role as a financial industry regulator in the aftermath of the financial crash five years ago.
“He was instrumental in turning FINMA into an effective regulatory body amidst the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s,” Kielholz said.
Raaflaub will succeed David Cole as Swiss Re’s Group chief risk officer. Cole joined Swiss Re in November 2010 and became Group CRO in March 2011. Swiss Re’s Board of Directors named Cole as chief financial officer in February, a promotion that became official on May 1.
Cole succeeds George Quinn, who left to join Zurich Insurance Group effective April 30, replacing the late Pierre Wauthier as CFO, who committed suicide in August 2013. Wauthier left a note in which he blamed his actions, in part, on heavy pressure from Zurich’s former chairman Josef Ackermann. Ackermann resigned soon after but was exonerated in a subsequent company investigation commissioned by FINMA.