OREANDA-NEWS. Stefan Loacker, Chief Executive Officer of Helvetia Group, is stepping down as CEO after nine successful years in the position. Thanks to the positive development of business over recent years and strong capitalisation, Stefan Loacker will be handing over a company that is well-equipped to meet the coming challenges. His successor is Philipp Gm?r, Member of the Executive Management of Helvetia Group and CEO of Helvetia Switzerland.

Stefan Loacker is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Helvetia Group by 31 August 2016. The 47-year-old has been at the company since 1997 and took on the position of CEO in September 2007. Under his management, Helvetia has significantly enhanced its market position as an international insurance group both at home and abroad and improved its profitability, whereby premium volume has increased from around CHF 5 billion to more than CHF 8 billion. In Switzerland Helvetia is today the number 3 among insurers.

“After the largely completed integration of Nationale Suisse and the successful launch of the helvetia 20.20 strategy, now is the right time after 20 years at Helvetia, including almost ten as CEO, to seek a new professional challenge”, Stefan Loacker said.

Dr. Pierin Vincenz, President of the Board of Directors, thanked the long-serving CEO for his dedication and extremely successful work: “Under Stefan Loacker’s leadership, Helvetia Group has experienced highly positive development. With the helvetia 20.20 strategy, Stefan Loacker has taken important steps towards securing a successful future for the company. He will be handing over a strong and sound company to his successor.”

As of 1 September 2016, the management of Helvetia Group will be in the hands of 53-year-old lawyer Dr. Philipp Gm?r. He is a skilled and experienced leader who has been making a major contribution to the company’s success since 2003 as Chief Executive Officer of Helvetia Switzerland and as a Member of the Executive Management of Helvetia Group. As such, he has formed Helvetia Switzerland into a very profitable unit and vigorously pursued its further development through organic growth and acquisitions. “Philipp Gm?r has gathered more than 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry and made key contributions to the development of the helvetia 20.20 strategy. He is the ideal person to push ahead with the successful course Helvetia Group is pursuing”, Dr. Pierin Vincenz said. The succession planning for Helvetia Switzerland is in progress and will be announced at a later date.

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About the Helvetia Group

In over 150 years, the Helvetia Group has grown from a number of Swiss and foreign insurance companies into a successful international insurance group. Today, Helvetia has subsidiaries in its home market Switzerland as well as in the countries that make up the Europe market area: Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain. With its Specialty Markets market area, Helvetia is also present in France and in selected regions worldwide. Some of its investment and financing activities are managed through subsidiaries and fund companies in Luxembourg and Jersey. The Group is headquartered in St.Gallen, Switzerland.

Helvetia is active in the life and non-life business, and also offers customised specialty lines and reinsurance cover. Its business activities focus on retail customers as well as small and medium-sized companies and larger corporates. With some 6,700 employees, the company provides services to more than 4.7 million customers. With a business volume of CHF 8.24 billion, Helvetia generated underlying earnings of CHF 439 million in the 2015 financial year. The registered shares of Helvetia Holding are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol HELN.