Allianz announces management changes in Africa

Allianz Africa appoints Adja Samb as Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Senegal

Allianz Africa announced the appointment of Adja Samb as CEO of Allianz Senegal, effective January 1, 2019 and subject to regulatory approval. Till her appointment, Adja served as Head of Operations and Chief Marketing Officer at Allianz Morocco, a position she held from March 2015.

Based in Dakar, she replaces Xavier Laurent who is taking on new responsibilities as Regional Head of Market Management. Adja will manage both life and non-life entities in Senegal and report to Coenraad Vrolijk, Regional Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Africa. 

As Head of Operations in Allianz Morocco, she drove cultural changes in Operations by putting in place a results-driven organization with key performance and productivity measurement tools. Adja held the position of Global Proposition Manager at Zurich Insurance Group before making the move to Allianz in Casablanca. Prior to her move to Zurich Insurance Group, she spent 10 years at AIG in a number of regional and local roles in France and Switzerland.

Adja is an MBA Graduate from the ESCEM Poitiers Business School. She also holds a Masters in International Management from the University of Northampton as well as a Post Graduate Degree in Quantitative Methods and Corporate Modelling from the University of Lille III.

Speaking about Adja’s appointment, Regional CEO Coenraad Vrolijk said: “Adja has been a great asset and high performer in her previous role of leading the Operations team at Allianz Morocco. She has the requisite knowledge and the leadership skills to succeed in her new position as CEO. I have no doubt that she will blaze the trail set by Xavier Laurent in developing our activities in Senegal, which is a high potential country for our Group.”

• Xavier Laurent to lead the newly created Market Management team of Allianz Africa as of January 1st, 2019
• This strategic move is aligned with Allianz strong business ambitions in Africa
• The new team will drive regional business growth and strengthen relationship with multinational clients and brokers

Allianz Africa announced the appointment of Xavier Laurent, previously CEO of Allianz Senegal, as regional Head of Market Management, effective January 1, 2019. He will report to Board Member Delphine Traoré Maïdou, Regional Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Allianz Africa.

Based in Casablanca, Xavier will be responsible for the development and delivery of customer-centric strategy across the continent. The regional teams managing distribution, bank insurance relationship management and micro-insurance expansion will also report to him.

Xavier will be supported by Benjamin Boudeau Raimbault, recently appointed as Regional corporate business development manager. Benjamin will actively strengthen the collaboration with large corporate, industrial and multinational clients and brokers. He is based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Prior to assuming this role, Xavier was serving as CEO of Allianz Senegal, managing both Non-Life and Life entities in the country. He also served two years as country CEO for Allianz Benin. Xavier holds an Executive MBA from IMD Business School in Lausanne as well as a Master’s degree in Risk Management from HEC Paris business school.

Speaking about the appointment, Regional COO Delphine Traoré Maïdou said: “Xavier has extensive knowledge of Allianz and a good understanding of the insurance market in the sub-Saharan region. This strategic appointment will foster our business growth across the region and reinforce our bonds with our key partners.”

The Allianz Group is one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers with more than 88 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing over 650 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers while our asset managers Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO manage an additional 1.4 trillion euros of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we hold the leading position for insurers in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2017, over 140,000 employees in more than 70 countries achieved total revenue of 126 billion euros and an operating profit of 11 billion euros for the group.

These assessments are, as always, subject to the disclaimer provided below.

In Africa, Allianz is currently present in 17 countries and accompanies clients in 39 countries. Its 1,500 employees achieved regional revenues of 630 million euros in 2017. Allianz also provides micro-insurance for 500,000 low-income families and individuals in Africa.