Change in leadership marks the next stage of Viridium's trajectory
Focus on further progress and growth of the business model following successful establishment of Viridium as a major life insurance group in Germany.
The majority acquisition of Generali Leben – now Proxalto – proved that large transactions can be managed smoothly, and that organizations of this size can be integrated quickly: Viridium completed the financial and organizational integration of Proxalto in less than two years. At the beginning of 2021, the first tranche of Proxalto contracts was successfully migrated. Viridium has thus demonstrated that portfolio migrations are feasible and manageable on a large scale, thus laying the foundation for further scaling the platform in the coming years.
After successfully establishing Viridium as the leading specialist for the efficient management of life insurance portfolios, CEO Dr Heinz-Peter Roß (55) will pass on the leadership role at the Group at his own request as of July 31, 2021. He will at the same time remain closely associated with Viridium by joining the Supervisory Board of Viridium Holding AG effective August 1, 2021. The current Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Rolf-Peter Hoenen, will retire from the Board with the closing of the 2022 general meeting due to having reached the age limit; it is planned that Heinz-Peter Roß will then take over his duties.
The current Group CFO Dr Tilo Dresig (49) has been appointed future CEO. Since autumn 2018, Tilo Dresig has been responsible for Accounting & Controlling, Investments, Actuarial Planning & Accounting, Tax, Procurement, Treasury and M&A. He started his professional career as a direct report to the Group CFO of Allianz Group. He then worked for 16 years in senior roles in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs in London and Frankfurt. As CFO of Viridium, Tilo Dresig has in particular managed the financial integration of Generali Lebensversicherung (now Proxalto) and has upgraded the financial and investment capabilities of Viridium as one of the largest life insurance groups in Germany.
Rolf-Peter Hoenen: Continuity as the basis for further growth
Rolf-Peter Hoenen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board: "Heinz-Peter Roß has done an outstanding job building the company over the past seven years. Under his leadership, Viridium has become the leading efficient manager of life insurance books in the German market, and the company is well-positioned for the next stage of its development. I thank Heinz-Peter Roß on behalf of the shareholders and the Supervisory Board for his pioneering work and I am also delighted that he will remain associated with the company in an important role as a future member of the Supervisory Board. Tilo Dresig made enormously valuable contributions to the development of Viridium in his role as Group CFO. Through his appointment as the next CEO, we are enabling a seamless continuation of the strategy and at the same time setting the course for future growth."
The successor of Tilo Dresig as Group CFO will be Johannes Berkmann (40), who currently heads the Group's Accounting & Controlling department. He was previously Head of M&A at Viridium and has therefore already had an important role in shaping the course of the Group. Johannes Berkmann worked for McKinsey and Cinven before he joined Viridium in 2017.
Rolf-Peter Hoenen: “The fact that these two important roles can be filled with members of the current management team demonstrates that Viridium has a broad and convincing leadership setup.”
Heinz-Peter Roß: We have successfully laid the foundations for further scaling the business model
Viridium CEO Heinz-Peter Roß: "In a comparatively short timeframe, Viridium has established itself as one of the largest life insurance groups by integrating companies of different sizes with heterogeneous organizational and financial structures. Efficient management of life insurance books is now a normal segment of the market. With the successful integration of Proxalto, we have laid the foundation for further scaling the business model. This is the right time for a change in management responsibility. I am grateful to the entire management team and to all colleagues at Viridium for their fantastic engagement and strong team spirit in this intensive build-up phase.”
Tilo Dresig: Focus on further progression and growth
Tilo Dresig, Group CFO and designated CEO: "I am grateful to the Supervisory Board and our shareholders for their support and I look forward to this exciting and important task. Based on Viridium’s experience and scale, our platform enables the efficient and stable management of life insurance portfolios, thus offering corresponding benefits to our customers. We will leverage our skills and infrastructure to further develop and grow Viridium going forward."
A unique success story in German life insurance
Since 2014, Viridium has firmly established itself as the leading provider of efficient management of life insurance portfolios. Today, the Group’s companies manage assets of more than 70 billion euros and employ a total of around 900 people.
Following the acquisitions of Heidelberger Lebensversicherung and Skandia Lebensversicherung in 2014, the initial focus was on establishing a sustainable infrastructure for contract management. The gradual migration of both portfolios provided evidence of the viability of the business model, which is geared to efficiency and operational excellence. With Protektor – now Entis – Viridium integrated traditional guarantee products for the first time.
The majority acquisition of Generali Leben – now Proxalto – proved that large transactions can be managed smoothly, and that organizations of this size can be integrated quickly: Viridium completed the financial and organizational integration of Proxalto in less than two years. At the beginning of 2021, the first tranche of Proxalto contracts was successfully migrated. Viridium has thus demonstrated that portfolio migrations are feasible and manageable on a large scale, thus laying the foundation for further scaling the platform in the coming years.