Swiss insurer picks former Zurich/AXA leader for top post

The long-serving chief executive officer (CEO) of  Baloise in Luxembourg has decided to leave the Swiss insurer after more than 18 years. The company has tapped a former Zurich and AXA veteran as his successor in one of its largest markets.

Christine Theodorovics is to become CEO of Baloise in Luxembourg, taking over from Romain Braas who is set to retire at the end of September.

Theodorovics will take up her new role on June 1, 2023, and take over the functions of authorised director and director of Baloise Assurances and Baloise Vie Luxembourg.

Theodorovics specialises in digitalisation, strategic transformation and ESG, according to Baloise. She began her insurance career as head of operational excellence at Swiss Life and also worked at Credit Suisse. From 2011 to 2019, she worked for the Zurich Insurance Group in a variety of senior positions, most recently as a member of the executive board of Zurich Deutschland – before moving to the AXA Group. In her role as chief strategy officer at AXA, she was responsible for strategy development and implementation for the Italian, German and Belgian markets until August 2022. Theodorovics is a non-executive director of Athora Deutschland and Hansard Global, as well as a member of the board of trustees of SOS Children’s Villages Switzerland.

“We are confident that in Christine we have found the ideal candidate for the role of CEO of Baloise in Luxembourg,” said Gert De Winter, CEO of the Baloise Group. “She has a long and successful track record in the insurance industry and possesses the leadership qualities and values needed to master the challenges we must face in a constantly changing world. Together with Christine, we are looking forward to building on our success and seizing every opportunity to make Baloise an even more customer-focused company.”

De Winter thanked Braas for his “outstanding commitment” to Baloise. He said: “Throughout his 18 years at Baloise, Romain has played a crucial part in shaping the success of the Company. During the eleven years of his leadership as CEO of Baloise in Luxembourg, we rose to the position of third-largest insurer in the Luxembourg market and have made a name for ourselves on the international stage. … [We] wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life.”

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.