Virva Ojala has been named new Nordic Head of Financial Lines at Zurich Insurance as of June 2019. She will be based in Stockholm, Sweden. Ojala was previously with AIG as Nordic Manager PI & Cyber, based in Stockholm, and Nordic PI, Cyber, Crisis Management Manager based in Oslo, Norway. She also served as Manager, Financial Lines Norway; Manager, Financial Lines Finland, and Senior Underwriter Financial Lines, all at

Discovery, the global leader in real life entertainment, has named Karen Bradshaw as Total Rewards Analyst as of April 2019. Bradshaw was previously employed as Global Mobility Technology Consultant with Mercer and based in Louisville, Kentucky. Before that, she was a Global Mobility Specialist with Kimberly Clark in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Global Mobility Specialist at AMD Semiconductors, as well as an International Relocation Consultant and Staffing Consultant for Intel

Non-life reinsurer TransRe in July 2019 completed the redomiciliation of its Swiss subsidiary, TransRe Zurich, to Luxembourg. Owner Transatlantic Holdings had announced the move in September 2018. TransRe Zurich changes its name to TransRe Europe in the process. In addition to P/C, the company also reinsures Accident & Health risks. The continental European offices in Munich, Paris and Zurich, as well as Dubai, become branch offices of Luxembourg. TransRe

AM Best’s Review in July 2019 released the 2019 edition of its list of the top 20 global insurance brokers, with Marsh & McLennan Companies leading the pack. The list ranks global insurance brokers by total yearly revenue. With $14.95 billion in total revenue, Marsh & McLennan (MMC) maintained the lead it held in 2017 thanks to the acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) in September 2018 for $5.6

Gallagher in July 2019 announced the purchase of a minority interest (29.7%) in Czech based insurance broker Renomia. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Prague, Renomia is the largest independent broker based in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, and has achieved double digit growth over the past five years. This growth is credited to a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. With more than 1,500 associates,

In April 2019, global mobility management company Topia announced the appointment of Terry Schmid as CFO. He will lead the global finance and accounting team, joining recently appointed CISO Randy Barr and CEO Shawn Farshchi. Terry has held a number of CFO roles over the past 20 years in the finance and technology sector including for IBM and top Silicon valley companies Coremetrics, Imperva and most recently, Apttus. His

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in June 2019 released the 2019 World Investment Report, which analyses global and regional foreign direct investment trends and prospects. It also documents national and international investment policy developments. In its theme chapter, the 2019 Report provides the global landscape of special economic zones (SEZs) and offers a policy framework for addressing key emerging challenges. The report highlights: Global foreign

Global consulting leader Mercer in March 2019 released its annual Quality of Living Rankings. Mercer’s global Quality of Living Survey compared 230 cities considered to be global assignment destinations for expatriates across multiple factors. These included political and social envrionment, consumer goods availability, housing, public services and transport, medical and healthcare, natural environment, school and education and recreation. The Top 10 ranked cities for 2019 are: Vienna, Austria Zurich,

In the June 2019 issue An Interview with IEBA’s New Chairman Norman Dreger R&D: Ultra-Processed Food Causes Weight Gain – Richard Hoffmann R&D: A Walk on The Beach for Good Health – Jay Maddock R&D: Perks Are Used to Control Your Life – Elizabeth C. Tippett R&D: Brain Over Body: How Psychology Influences Physiology – Vaibhav Diwadkar, Otto Muzik R&D: Robotic Health Care Is Coming to A Hospital Near

Institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks for corporate governance are the topics for the 2019 Corporate Governance Factbook, released in June 2019 by the OECD. The Factbook provides easily accessible and up-to-date information about the institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks for worldwide corporate governance, and complements the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. It is intended for use by governments, regulators, and the private sector to compare their own frameworks with

Aetna in May 2019 announced the launch of DNA testing as an optional part of its wellness plans for its European members. The DNA test examines aspects of health and lifestyle, in particular nutrigenomics (the relationship between genes, nutrition and health), fitness, sleep and stress. The goal of the DNA testing is to help members take control of their health and support them to make positive lifestyle changes. Employers

The 2019 Annual Financial Alliance For Women (FAW) Summit will be hosted by AXA from June 17-19 at its headquarters in Paris, France. The theme of the summit is “Building Resilience Through Inclusion” and will focus on highlighting  ways of building women’s economic reliance and growth through inclusivity and empowerment. The summit will commence on the morning of June 17th with a CEO forum, bringing together CEOs from leading

Give an Hour, a US-based, not-for-profit mental health services organization in June 2019 partnered with high profile companies including Facebook, Aetna and IBM to promote global awareness around mental health. The week-long global public education initiative called A Week to Change Direction ran from June 9 to June 15, 2019 with projects registered in 18 countries including Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Kenya, South Africa, Turkey,

Generali Belgium in June 2019 became Athora Belgium. The name change is the final stage in the January 2019 acquisition of Generali Belgium by Athora Holding. Since the acquisition, the company is led by CEO Dorsan van Hecke. The Athora brand came into existence at the beginning of 2018 following the spin-off from former parent company Athene Holding. Athora now is an insurance and reinsurance group that focuses on

Bermuda-based Athora Holding in June 2019 announced plans to acquire Netherlands-based Vivat from Anbang Group Holdings along with NN Group of The Netherlands. NN will become the new owner of Vivat Schadeverzekeringen (Vivat Non-Life). Athora will retain Vivat’s life and asset management businesses. The acquisition in the Netherlands comes soon after Athora’s January 2019 acquisition of Generali’s operations in Belgium. It is in line with the company’s external growth

The Summer 2019 edition of Global Benefits Vision’s Directory of Global Employee Benefits and Global Mobility Providers is now available. The new edition can be browsed online and downloaded as a PDF. If you would like to be considered for free-of-charge inclusion in the Directory, email olivia@gbvmag.com for your Information Pack and Data Form.

Rising medical costs and shifting health drivers fuel innovation in employer-sponsored health plans Medical costs continue to outpace general inflation by close to three times, with a global average 9.7% in 2018 with similar increases for 2019 and 2020, according to the Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) 2019 Medical Trends Around the World report, released in June 2019. A survey of 204 insurers across 59 countries, the report assesses how

A new report from MAXIS Global Benefits Network entitled, “In the changing world of employee benefits, does one size fit all?”, reveals that multinational businesses failing to offer more flexible employee benefits packages will struggle to attract and retain staff in an increasingly competitive market for talent. According to the report, the rise of flexible, tailored and personalized E.B. is due in part to the highly sophisticated options now

Gallagher in June 2019 announced that LeAnne Stefl had been appointed Practice Leader of its Multinational Benefits and Human Resources Consulting practice, part of Gallagher’s Benefits and Human Resources division. She reports to Leslie Lemenager, President, International, Benefits and Human Resources division. Stefl joins Gallagher with more than 30 years of insurance industry experience, including executive and leadership positions with several large global consultancies. Most recently, she founded Solvere

Aon and the American Benefits Council have released the Global Benefits Governance and Operations Study 2018/2019. The study queried over 200 multinational companies  ranging in size from over 100,000 to fewer than 10,000 employees, and asked global compensation and benefits leaders for their views on best practices in global benefits management. The survey also explored key issues such as what these organizations can do to improve the alignment of

Swiss Re in May 2019 released its latest SONAR report, in which they highlight emerging and “slow-burner” emerging risks and their potential effects on the re/insurance industry. Emerging risks are newly developing or evolving risks that are difficult to quantify, but potentially have a significant impact on the industry and society. Emerging trend spotlights examine early development, which may offer both opportunities and risks for the insurance industry in

Wambui Wainaina in May 2019 was appointed Director of Compensation & Benefits at software engineering firm Andela, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Andela hires and trains African software engineers to work in its offices in Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; and Kampala, Uganda. The 1200 developers work for third-parties that struggle to find technical talents. Wainaina joins Andela from Philip Morris International where she served as Benefits Manager, EEMA. Previously, she

GBV author Ruchika Pal in May 2019 joined Apollo Tyres as Group Head – Corporate HR, based in Singapore. Headquartered in Gurgaon, India, Apollo has 16,000 employees worldwide and manufactures tires under the Apollo and Vredestein brands. Ruchika is in charge of global rewards, global mobility, HR policy, and other corporate HR functions; she also serves as HR Business Partner for all corporate functions. Previously, she was the Founder

Generali group general manager Frédéric de Courtois in May 2019 was elected vice-president of Insurance Europe (IE), for a three-year mandate. He succeeds Torbjörn Magnusson, group CEO and president of Sampo Insurance Group. Insurance Europe is the federation of national re/insurance associations from 34 E.U. and other European countries. Frédéric de Courtois began his career in the IT sector with CGI Informatique in France, before moving to French insurance

In the May 2019 issue Fulfilling the diversity of employee needs: are cafeteria-style benefits plans the future? – Olivia Dunn R&D: The Legal Profession Has A Mental Health Problem – Neil Graffin, Emma Jones, Mathijs Lucassen, Rajvinder Samra R&D: The Opioid Crisis Is Not About Pain – David Walton R&D: Using Painkillers for Emotional Relief – Kev Dertadian R&D: Feel Like Time Is Flying? How to Slow It Down

Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in May 2019 appointed Alan Fergusson as Employee Benefits Director and member of the executive staff, based in the UK. He reports to WBN CEO Francie Starnes and replaces LeAnne Stefl who joins Gallagher as head of global benefits. Alan held his previous position as managing director of Mattioli Woods after selling his company – Kudos Financial Services in 2011. He has previously served on

Independent captive management firm USA Risk Group‘s senior management team in May 2019 completed a management buyout from Spencer Capital Holdings. The buyout includes operations from all jurisdictions USA Risk Group operates in. The senior management team includes Paul Macey as President; Rob Leadbetter, Senior Vice President and Charmain Aggarwal, Vice President. Jeanne Crawford leads the Barbados office; John Tortell, the Malta office; and Steven Lill, the Cayman Islands