SCOR abandons succession plan as CEO steps down a year early

SCOR’s chief executive officer (CEO), Denis Kessler, will step down from his position at the end of his current term of office, which is due to expire at the general meeting on June 30, 2021, for personal reasons.

Laurent Rousseau, deputy CEO of SCOR global property and casualty (P&C), chairman of SCOR Europe and member of the group executive committee, will assume the responsibilities of CEO following the general meeting.

Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas, who was appointed deputy CEO from January 1, 2021, was originally slated to become CEO in 2022. The board, however, decided Ribadeau-Dumas is not yet ready to take over as CEO, given his relative inexperience in the re/insurance sector.

Rousseau has held senior positions at SCOR for the past eleven years and has 20 years of experience in the re/insurance sector in both London and Paris. He was one of three candidates selected by the compensation and nomination committee as part of the chairman and CEO succession planning conducted in 2019 and 2020. He also becomes a director of the group.

The roles of chairman of the board and CEO will also be separated one year earlier than had originally planned, with Kessler retaining his position as chairman, following unanimous consent from the board.

Kessler said: “This is a fascinating and demanding industry, extremely sophisticated and underpinned by science. SCOR has become a global Tier 1 company that is profitable, has a high level of solvency, and is growing continuously.”

Rousseau will stay true to SCOR’s principles and values, while giving it new momentum in the current health and economic crisis, he added.

Augustin de Romanet, lead independent director at SCOR, paid tribute to Kessler’s achievements while running the company. “Over the past nineteen years, Denis has shaped SCOR, turning it around in an outstanding way and subsequently establishing it as the world’s fourth largest reinsurer, with a rating of AA-,” he said. “He has created a culture of expertise and integrity that will be carried on by the teams he has built.”

Rousseau said: “I firmly believe that SCOR is well positioned to meet the demands of our clients and to satisfy our shareholders in an increasingly risky world, with its extremely deep talent pool, mastery of the most advanced technologies, proven agility to constantly adapt, sophisticated risk management, and exemplary ESG performance. Since 2002, the group has aimed to be a tier 1 global reinsurer. That goal remains intact. We will meet these challenges with dynamism and enthusiasm, bringing our teams together to serve all our stakeholders.”

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