Stefan Lippe, who led Swiss Re out of crisis following 2008/09, died of complications from COVID-19. He was 65.
The German-Swiss executive left the Swiss reinsurer in 2012, just three years after taking the top spot early in 2009. Stefan Lippe was instrumental in reversing Swiss Re's crisis losses and returning the company to its underwriting roots following an ill-fated investment push.
The 65-year-old, whose death was disclosed in a notice in Swiss daily «Neue Zuercher Zeitung» (in German), took the helm at Swiss Re as U.S. investor Warren Buffett injected $3 billion of new capital for its revival.
Start-Up Life
Lippe went on to several other ventures after his nearly 30-year career at Swiss Re: he sat on the board of Commerzbank in Germany for four years until 2018, and served as chairman of two start-ups: Yes, an open banking platform, and Celsiuspro, an insurance start-up focused on climate risk and natural catastrophes.
He also joined the board of French insurer Axa soon after retiring from Swiss Re, a role which he held until his death. One of the first prominent finance executives to die of the novel coronavirus, Lippe is survived by his wife, Gabriela Lippe-Holst, and children.
