Allianz Global Benefits - People

OCTOBER 2022

Omar Al Malla appointed Technical Employee Benefits Expert

Omar Al Malla is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Technical Employee Benefits Expert. In this role he will be part of the new team of technical employee benefits experts responsible for the areas of organization of local quotations and renewals in strong collaboration with the global UW desk, understanding technical pricing, proposition development and technical onboarding of network partners. Based in Munich, Omar will report to Kostas Vetsis, Head of Technical Employee Benefits Team. Before joining Allianz, Omar worked as Chief Underwriter for Lebanon and Jordan at MetLife. He comes with 9 years of experience in employee benefits sales support and underwriting. Omar holds a Bachelor degree in Banking and Finance, and a Master's degree in Business Administration, both from the Beirut Arab University.

OCTOBER 2022

Manuel Vicente appointed Technical Employee Benefits Expert

Manuel Vicente is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Technical Employee Benefits Expert. In this role he will be part of the new team of technical employee benefits experts responsible for the areas of organization of local quotations and renewals in strong collaboration with the global UW desk, understanding technical pricing, proposition development and technical onboarding of network partners. Based in Munich, Manuel will report to Kostas Vetsis, Head of Technical Employee Benefits Team. Before joining Allianz Global Benefits, he worked as Sales Manager and Underwriter at Allianz Portugal. He brings with him six years of diversified experience in the group insurance industry, having also worked at Allianz SE in Munich as Underwriting Analyst & Product Owner in Global P&C, and as Project Manager in Group Data Analytics. Manuel has a Bachelor of Science in Management at the ISCTE Business School in Lisbon and concluded his Master’s in Insurance & Risk Management at the MIB Trieste School of Management.

SEPTEMBER 2022

Tim Vandecasteele appointed Regional Director UK and Ireland

Tim Vandecasteele has joined Allianz Global Benefits (AGB) as Regional Director. He will be responsible for client management and sales activities of employee benefits dedicated to multinational companies in in the UK and Ireland. Based in London, he reports to Cyril Samson, Head of Sales. Before joining Allianz Global Benefits, Tim was the Head of Employee Benefits at Generali in Hong Kong. He comes with extensive knowledge and experience of international employee benefits, having worked for Generali for more than a decade as Senior Account Executive MEA, Manager for UK & Nordics and Manager for North Asia. Tim holds a Bachelor in Applied Economics and a Master in Finance and Strategy at the University of Manchester.

SEPTEMBER 2022

Erin Pipkorn appointed Account Manager

Erin Pipkorn has joined Allianz Global Benefits (AGB) as Account Manager Americas. She will be responsible for relationship management and service delivery of our employee benefits programs for the US based multinational clients and consultants as well as supporting the Regional Sales Director in business development activities. Based in Minneapolis, she reports to Melanie Breyer, Head of Account Management. Before joining Allianz Global Benefits, Erin worked as Customer Operations Specialist at Securian Financial and as Client Solution Manager at Freeman. She holds a Bachelor degree in Consumer Affairs in Business from the University of Wisconsin.

AUGUST 2022

Abdullah Al Noman appointed Account Manager

Abdullah Al Noman has joined Allianz Global Benefits as Account Manager Americas. He will be responsible for relationship management and service delivery of our global employee benefits programs for the US based multinational clients and consultants as well as supporting Adam King, Regional Director, and Federico Lentini, Senior Account Manager, in business development activities in the US. Based in Stuttgart, he reports to Melanie Breyer, Head of Account Management. Abdullah joined Allianz Global Benefits in March 2022 as intern for the Tender Management Team, supporting with the preparation of responses to Global Tenders and contributing to various data bases and projects. Before this, he gained work experience in internships at various companies, including Mercedes Benz Versicherung AG, where he worked together with the underwriting and claims management team to develop a database error and portfolio analysis. Abdullah is currently finalizing his masters in Financial Service Management from the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), majoring in Banking and Insurance at FBS from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

AUGUST 2022

Hannah Hruby appointed Global Governance Manager

Hannah Hruby is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Global Governance Manager. In this role she will be part of the Finance & Governance team and be responsible for the integration of governance regulations as well as the monitoring of relevant governance requirements in the company’s environment. Based in Stuttgart, she will report to Steffen Gehring, Head of Finance & Governance. Before joining the company, Hannah concluded a nine-month Compliance internship at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty in Germany, where she conducted risk assessments & gap analysis on new legal changes and monitored incoming legal changes. Prior to this, she worked as an Associate Lawyer at Alikan Law Firm in Davao, Philippines. Hannah completed her Masters in European and International Law at University of Saarland in March 2022.

JULY 2022

Stephane Materic appointed Regional Director

Stephane Materic has joined Allianz Global Benefits (AGB) as Regional Director. He will be responsible for client management and sales activities of employee benefits dedicated to multinational companies in Benelux, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Africa and Russia. Based in Munich, he reports to Cyril Samson, Head of Sales. Prior to this, he worked as Head of Sales at Allianz Russia, being the local key contact person for the sales activities of the Allianz Global Benefits Network in the country. Stephane comes with more than 20 years’ experience in working in a cross-cultural environment and extensive knowledge of international employee benefits, having worked in different roles at Allianz Russia and Allianz Partners in Russia. He started his career as part of the family office of Kering Group in France and then worked for Mazars in Moscow. Stephane holds degrees in management control, accountancy and finance.

MAY 2022

Ritish Ranjan Khan appointed Digital Transformation Engineer

Ritish Ranjan Khan is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Digital Transformation Engineer. In this role he will be part of the Digital Solutions Team responsible for providing and creating the company’s digital solutions and infrastructure. Based in Munich, Ritish will report to Carina Micu, Head of IT & Digital Solutions. He brings along more than seven years of experience in product development and automation as well as configuration management. Ritish holds a bachelor degree in Computer Science from the West Bengal University of Technology.

MAY 2022

Natalia Dobrescu appointed Head of Data & Reporting

Natalia Dobrescu has been appointed Head of Data & Reporting at Allianz Global Benefits (AGB). She will be leading the Data & Reporting Team responsible for steering the data streams, preparing reports for international clients as well as driving the data exchange process of all international risk programs. Based in Munich, Natalia reports to Michael Scheu, Head of Products & Solutions. She brings along extensive experience in data modeling, integration and governance in the banking and insurance sector. Before joining Allianz Global Benefits, she worked as a Senior Data Analyst at Allianz Re where she was responsible for the in-house data applications, with focus on collecting and reporting reinsurance exposure from within the Group. Natalia holds a postgraduate degree of the Faculty of Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and a Master’s degree in International Financial Management form the Romanian Banking Institute.

MAY 2022

Beliz Irmak Küçükdumlu appointed Technical Employee Benefits Expert

Beliz Irmak Küçükdumlu is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Technical Employee Benefits Expert. In this role she will be part of the new team of technical employee benefits experts responsible for the areas of organization of local quotations and renewals in strong collaboration with the global UW desk, understanding technical pricing, proposition development and technical onboarding of network partners. Based in Munich, Beliz will report to Kostas Vetsis, Head of Technical Employee Benefits Team. Before joining Allianz Global Benefits, she worked for Allianz Turkey for 8 years, and recently for Bupa. She brings with her knowledge in group medical product development and pricing, employee benefits underwriting as well as high technical skills in agile & scrum methodologies. Beliz studied Actuarial Sciences in the Hacettepe University in Ankara.

APRIL 2022

Nevil Mugono appointed Tender Manager

Nevil Mugono has been appointed Tender Manager at Allianz Global Benefits (AGB). He will be part of the team that coordinates the tendering of global employee benefits programs. Based in Munich, Nevil reports to Marco Fattori, Head of Tender Management. He brings more than 9 years of experience in insurance, having previously worked with local insurers in Uganda and the last two years at Allianz SE, first within the Business Division for Southern and Western Europe and most recently as an Executive Assistant to the Head of M&A for the African region. Nevil holds a Master in Insurance & Risk Management from the MIB School of Management in Trieste.

APRIL 2022

Carlo Vanin appointed Global Distribution & Network Manager

Carlo Vanin is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Global Distribution & Network Manager. In this role he will be part of the Strategy & Network Management Team that is responsible for the strategic and operational management of the company’s network insurers. Based in Munich, Carlo will report to Marta Querol, Head of Distribution and Network Management. Before joining Allianz, Carlo worked as an Account Executive at Eurorisk in Italy. He brings along more than six years of experience in insurance and jurisprudence, having worked as a Placement Specialist for Willis Towers Watson and as a Legal Consultant of the law firm Mora & Associati in Parma, Italy. Carlo holds a MSc Degree in Law from the University of Parma and a Master in Insurance & Risk Management from the MIB School of Management in Trieste, both degrees with honors.

APRIL 2022

Islam Nader appointed Digital Solutions Engineer

Islam Nader is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Digital Solutions Engineer. In this role he will be part of the Digital Solutions Team responsible for driving the design, integration and implementation of business development opportunities. His focus is on the implementation of interfaces between the company’s IT systems and further automation of business processes. Based in Stuttgart, Islam will report to Carina Micu, Head of IT & Digital Solutions. Islam brings along five years of experience as a full stack developer, having a strong knowledge in designing and programming applications. He holds a bachelor degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Greenwich.

APRIL 2022

Lei Li appointed Digital Software Engineer

Lei Li is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Digital Software Engineer. In this role he will be part of the Digital Solutions Team responsible for driving the design, integration and implementation of business development opportunities. Based in Stuttgart, Lei will report to Carina Micu, Head of IT & Digital Solutions. Before joining Allianz, Lei was a data scientist at Ernst & Young in Stuttgart, Germany, bringing along five years of experience in designing data processes and programming. Lei holds a master degree in Chemical Engineering from the Technische Universität München.

MARCH 2022

Khushboo Purohit appointed Global Data Manager

Khushboo Purohit is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Global Data Manager. In this role she will be responsible for the collection, analysis and storage of data from our network insurers, as well as both defining and translating global business requirements into data requirements as needed for the related IT infrastructure. Based in Stuttgart, she will report to the future Head of Data & Reporting, and temporarily to Steffen Gehring, Head of Finance & Governance. Before joining Allianz Global Benefits, she worked as a Data Consultant at Allianz Services India, where she was responsible for the global data validation from different Allianz entities and the realization of IT projects based on agile methodologies. Khushboo holds a Master’s degree in Data Analytics from Simplilearn and in Applied Chemistry (PHD) from the Shivaji University of Kolhapur.

MARCH 2022

Donata Bauer appointed Global Broker & Distribution Manager

Donata Bauer has been appointed Global Broker & Distribution Manager at Allianz Global Benefits. She will be developing and supporting our global strategic broker activities to ensure a structured and consistent engagement approach with our key broking partners from a global, regional and local point of view. Based in Munich, Donata will report to Marta Querol, Head of Distribution and Network Manager at Allianz Global Benefits. Donata joined Allianz Global Benefits in 2019 as Executive Assistant to the CEO, being responsible for steering key initiatives on behalf of the CEO and providing strategic support to the executive team. Before this, she worked as Business Analyst in Facultative Reinsurance at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. Donata holds a B.A. degree in International Business Management from Hochschule Furtwangen and a Dual MSc./ MBA(BR) degree in International Management from Steinbeis-Hochschule Berlin.

MARCH 2022

Katja Muench appointed Head of Corporate Functions

Katja Muench is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Head of Corporate Functions. In this role she will be heading the teams responsible for finance, governance, IT and digital solutions of our organization. Based in Munich, Katja will report to Frank Forster, CTO and MD at Allianz Global Benefits. Before joining Allianz Global Benefits, Katja was an Executive Assistant of Christof Mascher and Barbara Karuth, the Group COO and Member of the Board of Management at Allianz SE. She brings with her 17 years’ experience in the international insurance industry with a focus on operations and transformation of employee benefits. Before joining Allianz, Katja held several positions at AXA, having spent many years working abroad, namely in France, China and the UAE. Katja completed an MBA at EBS University in Germany and the US with a Finance and IT specialty.

MARCH 2022

Luciana Achenbach appointed Technical Employee Benefits Expert

Luciana Achenbach is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Technical Employee Benefits Expert. In this role she will be part of the new team of technical employee benefits experts responsible for the areas of organization of local quotations and renewals in strong collaboration with the global UW desk, understanding technical pricing, proposition development and technical onboarding of network partners. Based in Munich, Luciana will report to Kostas Vetsis, Head of Technical Employee Benefits Team. Before joining Allianz, Luciana was an insurance consultant at Mercer Deutschland GmbH in Munich for the past 8 years, engaging with and supporting local clients in the area of employee benefits and international risk management programs. She holds a degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Iasi in Romania and a PhD in Biodiversity from Aarhus University in Denmark.

FEBRUARY 2022

Konstantinos Vetsis appointed Head of Technical Employee Benefits Team

Konstantinos Vetsis is joining Allianz Global Benefits as Head of Technical Employee Benefits Team. In this role he will be leading the new team of technical employee benefits experts responsible for the areas of organization of local quotations and renewals in strong collaboration with the global UW desk, understanding technical pricing, proposition development and technical onboarding of network partners. Based in Munich, Konstantinos will report to Michael Scheu, Head of Products and Solutions. Before joining Allianz, Konstantinos was Employee Benefits and Credit Life Insurance Underwriting Lead for EMEA at MetLife & Alico (AIG) and responsible for regional underwriting and pricing oversight, development of local underwriting governance and training & mentoring of the underwriting regional community. He comes with extensive experience in underwriting and technical lead roles in local and global employee benefits in Europe and Middle East countries. Konstantinos holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Athens.

JANUARY 2022

António Seixas appointed Account Manager

António Seixas has joined Allianz Global Benefits (AGB) as Account Manager. He will be a first contact point for clients and brokers in the UK and participate in sales-related activities in the area of global employee benefits programs. This also includes regular contact with the network insurers in order to ensure a smooth run of policies and renewals. Based in Munich, he reports to Melanie Breyer, Head of Account Management. António joined the Tender Management Team of AGB in June 2021 as intern, gaining valuable skills and experience in both global benefits insurance solutions and our specific offering. He holds a Bachelor degree in Law and finalized his Master in Management with specialization in Strategy and Change with an European Triple Degree.

Marco Fattori appointed Head of Tender Management

Marco Fattori has been appointed Head of Tender Management at Allianz Global Benefits (AGB). As team leader, he will be responsible for optimally promoting the company’s employee benefits solutions in global tenders. Based in Munich, Marco reports to Cyril Samson, Head of Sales. Before moving to this position, he was Regional Director at AGB, being responsible for client management and sales activities in Europe and Africa. Prior to this, Marco was Head of Account Management. Before joining AGB as an Account Manager in 2014, Marco worked in the Group Human Resources Department of Allianz SE as a Key Account Manager, where he was responsible for global and regional Talent Management initiatives. Marco studied History and holds a Master of Business Administration.