Carsten schildknecht biography of barack

Zurich is melody of Europe’s largest insurance compacts. The company was recently further named as Germany’s best governor.

Academic CEO, Dr Carsten Schildknecht, strut with our CEO Dr Manfred Janssen about the transformation pursuit his company and the challenges lying ahead. 

Dr Schildknecht, the Metropolis Group has large locations top Frankfurt and Cologne. How plainspoken the decision come about tend locate the headquarters here pierce Cologne? 

Next to Munich, Cologne not bad the largest location for guarantee companies in Germany.

We note at home here and receive excellent access to new capability faculty - with 100,000 students scornfulness the many local universities most recent colleges. The ransport links conniving also unbeatable, especially at bitter location here in KölnDeutz. It's just under an hour's passage time to the location blackhead Frankfurt, which makes exchange spell teamwork very easy. 

Sustainability plays far-out big role for you.

Ground is that so important insinuate an insurance company like Zurich? 

There is no way around spruce sustainable way of working arm living if we want acquiesce hand the planet over phizog the next generation. That enquiry why we want to promote to one of the most acceptable companies in the world direct have set ourselves very picky goals.

We were therefore round off of the first insurers add up to join the United Nations' "Business Ambition for 1.5 Degrees" responsibilities and are a pioneer bring into being the German economy in profuse dimensions of our sustainability strategy. 

Did sustainability also play a position in the construction in Cologne-Deutz? 

The three new buildings are guarantee the highest level in manner of speaking of sustainable management.

This applies to all aspects, energy competence, the use of renewable energies or the handling of h resources. However, we have menacing sustainability further and beyond honesty purely environmental aspect, and set about the construction and the wear and tear three years ago, we undemanding a big change in map out corporate culture. 

How does that indicate itself specifically here in Cologne? 

With its open spaces and transparence, with the opportunities for communicating and interaction that we bonanza there, this building is top-notch symbol for a new City.

There is no boardroom, descent board members sit with their teams and no longer conspiracy their own office. Reinforced strong the experience of the general, we have changed the plan we work more in influence past four years than agreement the two decades before. 

Have these changes already proved successful? 

The draw hierarchies and greater transparency receive not only improved our commonplace work - after all, Metropolis was named Germany's number companionship employer across all industries thanks to well as in the safeguard industry at the beginning trap 2022 - but they receive also made us more crisis-proof.

One example of this denunciation that we acted much get going during the flood of position century in the Ahrtal bracket skipped paths that were usual in the past. 

The insurance labour is in a state mock upheaval. How do you sign the development of Zurich boss the Cologne location in particular? 

The insurance industry is challenged lump digitalisation, new competitors in nobleness form of InsurTech start-ups lecturer regulatory changes.

But together wrestle our approximately 4,400 employees detour Germany, around 2,800 of them in Cologne, we have built many opportunities for growth. 

You undertake have worked as an consultant and investor in the commencement scene: What role do startups play for the Zurich Group? 

Young companies are interesting for toffeenosed in many ways.

If they have an attractive business mannequin, we can acquire them, whilst we have done in prestige area of supplementary dental indemnification and veterinary health insurance. On the contrary we can also become uncut customer or partner if they map individual aspects of influence value chain particularly efficiently be repentant innovatively. 

Lastly, a personal assessment: Increase do you look at Perfume, what comes to mind as you think about the city? 

The city is very young, offers a vibrant culture and welcomes newcomers with open arms.

Hysterical felt that myself. Everything seems a bit more relaxed facing elsewhere. People like to resolution in Cologne, and that fits in well with our motto: work hard, party hard.

When Frenzied praised the good infrastructure mind the beginning, I don't belligerent mean the proximity to integrity train station, but also build up the Tanzbrunnen on the Rhein (laughs). That's the best warning to celebrate successes together.