Baloise insurance company has founded a digitization unit and put it under the management of a nuclear physicist.
«The digital revolution is ushering in fundamental changes for the insurance industry and presenting major challenges for its business models,» said Baloise in a statement today. «At the same time, it is opening up opportunities and potential for growth.»
To capitalize on those opportunities, Baloise launched a new division, called «Group Strategy and Digital Transformation». The department will be gearing customer interaction, operational processes and organizational structures to the changing needs of customers in the digital age, Baloise said.
In Charge of M&A
The new division will work closely with the national units of Baloise and Gert De Winter, CEO of Baloise Group. It will drive forward the implementation of the future corporate strategy, the main points of which will be presented in detail on October 26. Mergers and acquisition will also fall under the remit of the new department.
Adrian Honegger has been appointed as head of the division, starting in October. He will report to Thomas Sieber, the head of the Corporate Center division. The unit previously charged with M&A activities, Corporate Development, will be incorporated into Group Strategy and Digital Transformation.
PhD in Nuclear Physics
Honegger joined Baloise in 2009 and was appointed co-head of IT in Switzerland. He acquired a PhD in nuclear physics in 1999 in the U.S. After the doctorate, he held various industrial and academic posts across Europe in the fields of medical physics and biotechnology, always with a focus on digitization.
