Munich Re has appointed Steven Chang as Chief Executive, Greater China. It has also appointed a new Managing Director, Smart Thinking Consulting (Beijing) Company.
Steven Chang will lead Munich Re’s non-life business and operations in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the company said in a statement on Monday. The appointment is effective from 1 August 2019.
«As the first international reinsurer to establish a fully-fledged branch in Beijing, we are focused on deepening relationships with market players on-the-ground and providing tailor-made, innovative products and services to clients in the region. China is very dynamic from both a business and technological perspective, and this is an important market where we want to grow and create new solutions with our clients,” said Tobias Farny, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific - Greater China and Australia / New Zealand in Munich.
Non-Life Business in Greater China
Chang's appointment follows the recent appointment of a new head of the company’s technology-based consulting services and innovation lab in Beijing Based in Beijing, Steven will lead the company’s non-life business and operations in the Greater China area, which includes mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. He will report to Farny.
Steven succeeds Christoph Hoch, who successfully held the role for five years and has returned to Germany to take up the role of Regional Head, Munich Re Facultative & Corporate, Iberia and Latin America, with effect from 1 August 2019. Under his leadership, Munich Re expanded its presence in the Greater China region and enhanced its innovation offerings to clients through the launch of Smart Thinking Consulting (Beijing) Company, a dedicated company that offers tech-enabled insurance solutions, as well as its Beijing innovation lab, aimed at bringing in new ideas around risk management and digitisation of sales.
A Key Contributor
Steven joined Munich Re Group in 1997 and was one of the key contributors to the initial business establishment of Munich Re in China. He assumed the role of CEO of the Beijing Branch in 2009, with expanded responsibility for Greater China non-life clients and markets from 2013.
Between 2016 and 2018, Steven was seconded to Munich Re Syndicate in London as the Head of Cross-platform Business Development, capturing synergies across various Munich Re units in the UK and abroad.
Innovation Offerings Continue
To continue the momentum in enhancing Munich Re’s innovation offerings, Zi Jia Li has been appointed Managing Director, Smart Thinking Consulting (Beijing) Company, also known as SiTao Consulting. He is also responsible for Munich Re’s innovation lab in Beijing, and reports to Steven Chang, Chief Executive, Greater China.
Zi Jia has more than ten years’ experience of end to end digital insurance solutions in Greater China, Korea and Southeast Asia. Before joining Munich Re, he held the role of Chief Digital Officer at Chubb China and led Chubb’s InsurTech and distribution partnership with major technology players in China by leveraging big data, image processing, IoT, behavior analysis and artificial intelligence.
He has also served as Head of Digital Programs/Head of Digital China at AIG, as Digital Program Manager at Whittington Private Equity/Direct Asia and as Digital Transformation Consultant at Accenture Singapore.
