Chair:
- Rob Wesseling, President and CEO, Co-operators (Canada)
Vice Chairs:
- Aris Alip, Founder and Chairman, CARD MRI (The Philippines)
- Alejandro Simón, CEO, Grupo Sancor Seguros (Argentina)
- Izak Smit, Group Chief Executive Officer, Professional Provident Society (PPS), (South Africa)
- Ylva Wessén, President and CEO, Folksam Group (Sweden)
Board members
- Carlo Cimbri, Chairman, Gruppo Unipol (Italy)
- Rockne Corbin, President & CEO, Shelter Insurance (USA)
- Lars Hallkvist, Chair, Länsförsäkringar consortium and Länsförsäkringar Älvsborg (Sweden)
- Yamil García Díaz, President, Grupo Cooperativo Seguros Múltiples (Puerto Rico)
- Adam Heath, Chief Executive, FMG (New Zealand)
- Evan Johnston, EVP, Strategy & Related Business, Wawanesa (Canada)
- Klaus-Jürgen Heitmann, CEO, HUK-Coburg (Germany)
- Jan Kamp Justesen, CEO, LB Group (Denmark)
- P.A. Kiriwandeniya, Chairman, SANASA Insurance Company (Sri Lanka)
- Christoph Lamby, Member of the Board of Management, R+V Versicherung AG (Germany)
- Valerie Lavoie, President & COO Desjardins General Insurance Group (Canada)
- Pascal Michard, Chairman, Aéma Groupe (France)
- Yoshihiko Murayama, Chair, AOA and President of the Board of Directors, Zenkyoren (Japan)
- Patrick Nyaga, Group Chief Executive Officer, CIC Insurance Group (Kenya)
- Barry O’Dwyer, Group CEO, Royal London (UK)
- Robert Otto, Member of the Executive Board, Achmea (Netherlands)
- Daysi Rosales, General Manager, Seguros Futuro (El Salvador)
- Rod Scanlon, CEO, Capricorn Mutual (Australia)
- Alejandro Sultani, President, El Progreso Seguros S.A. (Argentina)
- Nick Turner, Group Chief Executive, NFU Mutual (UK)
- Shuichi Uchikoshi, President, Kokumin Kyosai Co-op (Japan)
- Hilde Vernaillen, Chair of the Management Committee, P&V (Belgium)
- Mr Yoon Hae-jin, CEO, NongHyup Life Insurance (Republic of Korea)
Ex Officio members
- ICMIF Americas Chair
Andrés Elola, SURCO (Uruguay) - Intelligence Committee Chair
Glenn Croasdale, FMG (New Zealand) - Reinsurance Committee Chair
Christoph Lamby, R+V (Germany) - ICMIF Foundation Chair
Rob Wesseling, Co-operators (Canada) - ICMIF Chief Executive
Liz Green
Profiles
Chair: Rob Wesseling, President and CEO, The Co-operators Group Limited (Canada)
Rob oversees Co-operators commitment to building a sustainable, resilient and financially secure society for Canadians and their communities. Delivering on the organisation’s strategy, he directs its ongoing evolution from an insurance-focused company to a holistic financial-services provider – one that offers multi-line insurance and investment products, and personalized advice.
As a strong advocate of cooperative values, Rob believes that the way to foster Canadians’ financial strength is to invest in communities, so they can better withstand and recover from social, economic and environmental challenges. That’s why he has guided the company’s investment of more than CAD $2.69 billion – 23.6% of its total portfolio – into impact investments. And, as a founding director and member of the Partners for Action Advisory Board, and as a board member of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, he leads flood-resiliency efforts across the country.
On the global stage, Rob is the Chair of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) and its charitable foundation, and is a member of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) Steering Committee. He also shares his expertise nationally on the boards of both the Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund (CCIF) and Équité Association.
Rob holds a BA with distinction in Theoretical Mathematics and an M.Sc. of Applied Statistics from the University of Guelph. He also holds a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation.
Immediate Past Chair: Hilde Vernaillen, Chair of the Management Committee, P&V (Belgium)
Hilde Vernaillen has been working in the financial services industry for more than twenty years and is a committed defender of the mutual/cooperative business model in insurance. She is a regular conference speaker on various subjects of insurance, mutual and cooperative business.
Hilde was appointed as CEO of P&V Insurance and VIVIUM in 2011 after twenty years in the P&V Group, first in the bank and later on in the insurance companies.
Since October 2016, she has been Chair of ICMIF and has served on the ICMIF Board since 2011. She was also President of AMICE (Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe) between June 2013 and June 2016. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Euresa, a collaborative and networking tool between 13 European mutual and cooperative insurance companies, and President of the Board of Directors of Febecoop which promotes and defends the co-operative model at regional, federal, European and international level.
Furthermore, she is President of the Board and the Executive Committee of the Belgian insurance association (Assuralia), and several other organisations in Belgium and other European countries.
Vice Chair: Aris Alip, Founder and Chairman, CARD MRI (The Philippines)
Dr Jaime Aristotle Alip is the Founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) and the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service. He continues to chair the major institutions of CARD MRI (CARD Bank, CARD SME Bank, CMDI) and sits in all the CARD MRI boards either as a member or as an advisor. He has also been given the title of Chairman Emeritus of CARD NGO. Started in 1986, CARD MRI is now composed of 23 mutually reinforcing institutions serving 6.5 million poor families. Its microinsurance arm, CARD MBA, insures more than 26 million individuals, representing 26% of the country’s entire population. In addition, he brought CARD’s model of poverty eradication to other Southeast Asian countries by establishing a CARD presence in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia.
Under Dr Alip’s leadership, CARD MRI was also awarded the Prize for Excellence in Community Economic Development by the Southern New Hampshire University in 2007; People Power People Recognition Award by Former President Corazon C. Aquino in 2005; the Global Excellence for Microfinance by the Grameen Foundation, USA in 2003; and the Flame of Excellence Award by USAID and The Microfinance Coalition for Standards of the Philippines in 2000. Dr Alip has received numerous awards for his work in rural development and poverty eradication, the most recent of which was the prestigious Ramon V del Rosario Leadership Award for Nation Building conferred to him In July 2009.
Dr Alip is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, having completed the 3-year Owner/President Management (OPM) Program in 2007 and was given the Excellence Award on Strategy. He obtained his doctorate degree in Organization Development from the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute (SAIDI) in 2002. He received his bachelor and master’s degrees in agricultural economics/marketing from the University of the Philippines in 1978 and 1983 respectively. He also attended the Executive Program in Global Management at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, USA) in 1999. Dr Alip is currently an ICMIF Board member and was Chair of the ICMIF Foundation from 2015-2020, a registered charity in England and Wales, established by ICMIF to deliver the ICMIF 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy.
Vice Chair: Alejandro Simón, CEO, Grupo Sancor Seguros (Argentina)
Alejandro Simón has an Actuary degree, Cum Laude from Universidad de Buenos Aires and a Professional Master’s degree in Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude from IAE Universidad Austral. Since 1998, he has been working for Grupo Sancor Seguros, currently holding the position of CEO. He is President of ADIRA (Aseguradoras del Interior de la República Argentina), President of FISO (Latin American Foundation of Security and Occupational Health) and member of the Geneva Association Board of Directors. He also presides over CITES (Centre for Technological, Business and Social Innovation), the main private incubator of startups in LATAM following the model “one stop-shop tech incubator”. Before joining Sancor Seguros Group, he worked in the fields of risk rating and social security.
Since 2009, he has been Deputy Director of the Actuary department at Universidad of Buenos Aires (UBA). Likewise, in 2010 he became a member of the Academic Committee for the Master’s Degree in Economic and Financial Risk Management for the School of Economic Sciences Graduate Studies Division (UBA). A speaker at numerous national and international events, he co-chaired the G-20 Insurance Forum in Bariloche, Argentina in September 2018.
Vice Chair: Izak Smit, Group Chief Executive Officer, Professional Provident Society (PPS), (South Africa)
Izak Smit has been the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Provident Society (PPS) in South Africa since July 2016. He holds B Com Honors degrees from Stellenbosch University (1991, Actuarial Statistics) and from Pretoria University (2002, Economics) and is a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa (1996). He completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation (University of Oxford, 2013). His career spanned group benefits (Sanlam, 1993 – 1996), wealth management (Citadel, 1996 – 2005), life and general insurance (Absa, 2005 – 2011), bancassurance distribution (Absa, 2011 – 2016), and financial services general management (2016 – ).
In his current role, with the assistance of more than 1,300 colleagues, he is responsible for creating wealth, peace of mind and financial security for more than 150,000 professional clients (members) of PPS, the business that operates under the ethos of mutuality and which focuses exclusively on the professional segment in the market. The business covers the full spectrum of financial services, including sickness cover, life cover, general insurance, medical aid administration, investments, fiduciary solutions, and financial advice. He is married to Liezel and they have 2 boys. He enjoys the outdoors with his family (snow-skiing, mountaineering, surfing) and has completed the SA Ironman event 5 times.
Vice Chair: Ylva Wessén, President and CEO, Folksam Group (Sweden)
Ylva Wessén has an extensive experience of the insurance market gained during her 12 years in different positions at Folksam. During the last three years she has been Deputy CEO and held the position as the Board’s secretary. Since August 2019, she has been Acting President and CEO of Folksam. Currently, she is Chairman of KPA AB and Folksam Research Foundation. She is also a Member of the Board of Insurance Sweden, We Effect and the Nomination Committee of Swedbank.
Prior to joining Folksam in 2007 as Head of Risk and Compliance and Legal Counsel, she was an attorney at DLA Nordic, the Stockholm office within the DLA Piper group, between 2000 and 2007. She has a Master of Law from Stockholm University and a European Master in Law & Economics from the Universität Hamburg and Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Carlo Cimbri, Chairman, Gruppo Unipol (Italy)
Born in Cagliari in 1965, and with a degree with honours in Business Administration from the University of Bologna, Carlo Cimbri has over 30 years of experience in the banking and insurance sectors. He joined Unipol in 1990 and, over the years, held positions of growing responsibility until he became one of the General Managers of the Unipol Group in 2005. He became the sole General Manager in 2007 and Chief Executive Officer in 2010, an office he held until April 2022, when he was appointed Chairman.
Under his leadership, Unipol has become the leader in Italy in non-life business with 12,000 employees; EUR 13.3bn in insurance income in 2021; with approximately 16 million customers; and the leader in Europe for the number of installed black boxes in cars, thereby becoming one of the major players in the insurance industry at a European level.
Currently, Mr Cimbri also holds the office of Board Member of RCS Media Group and Euresa Geie, and is a member of the Board of Governors of Fondazione Censis (Centro Studi Investimenti Sociali, research centre for social investments).
In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious “Guido Carli Award” for Italian excellence in the world of economics, high finance, culture, and social engagement and has since been a Full Professor of Insurance Management in the Master’s degree course at the LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome.
Since May 2018, Carlo Cimbri has been President of the European Institute of Oncology, which also includes the Monzino Cardiology Centre, the Italian centre of excellence in oncology and cardiology.
Rockne Corbin, President & CEO, Shelter Insurance (USA)
Rockne was appointed Group President of Shelter Mutual Insurance on January 1, 2024, and then CEO on May 1,
2024, after serving as Executive Vice President for several years. He has significant insurance experience in Claims,
Underwriting, Actuarial, Reinsurance, Marketing and Customer Service. Prior to joining Shelter Insurance, Rockne
served in the US Army in Military Intelligence after completing his university studies in Business Administration.
Rockne joined Shelter in 1991 serving in various leadership positions in Corporate Claims until moving over to
Shelter Reinsurance Company in 2007 where he ran reinsurance operations until being promoted into senior
management in 2016. During his time involved in Reinsurance, he attended many of the ICMIF events and was a
Board Member for ICMIF – Americas.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for Shelter Insurance, Rockne is active with several community
boards having served with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Job Point, BSA – Great Rivers, Rainbow House, REDI, Boone
County Industrial Development Authority, among others.
During his time away from work, he spends time chasing after one of his five grandchildren or chasing after his
cows as he operates a cow/calf operation with his son in law.
Yamil García Díaz, President, Grupo Cooperativo Seguros Múltiples (Puerto Rico)
Yamil García Díaz graduated with honours from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Puerto Rico. He was a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus where he taught the Labour Economics course in the Department of Labour Relations from 2005 to 2007. Mr García began his career at Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples more than 20 years ago as a Planning and Budget Analyst. Among the positions he has held are Actuarial Analyst, Investment Supervisor, Investment Manager, Assistant Vice President of Investments and Vice President of Finance. His last position prior to his appointment as President was as Executive Vice President of Grupo Cooperativo Seguros Múltiples (GCSM).
Throughout his career he has contributed to a number of major projects at Grupo Cooperativo Seguros Múltiples such as the development of the telephone services subsidiary, he chaired the microinsurance committee, he was designated Continuity Officer and in charge of implementing, with the advice of a consultant, the Business Continuity Plan of Grupo Cooperativo Seguros Múltiples. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Economists of Puerto Rico. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Central Credit Corporation (CCC) and Banco Hipotecario Múltiples Mortgage.
In his new role as President of Grupo Cooperativo Seguros Múltiples and Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples, García serves on the Association of Joint Underwriting as a director.
Lars Hallkvist, Chair, Länsförsäkringar consortium and Länsförsäkringar Älvsborg (Sweden)
Lars is Chair of the Länsförsäkringar owner consortium in Sweden. He is also Chair of the board of Länsförsäkringar Älvsborg. Lars is a solicitor, specialising in business law. He lives in Borås, a mid-size town in the south west area of Sweden, close to Gothenburg.
Lars has two grown up sons and he enjoys spending his free time hunting in the forest and playing golf in summer time.
Adam Heath, Chief Executive, FMG (New Zealand)
Adam joined FMG as Chief Executive in December 2021 and cites a real connection to and empathy for FMG’s values, the Mutual model and New Zealand’s rural sector as key motivations for joining the Mutual. In his previous role he was the Executive General Manager, Insurance Solutions with Suncorp New Zealand.
Adam has a strong background in financial services with over 28 years spent working with and for some of New Zealand’s leading general insurance, life insurance and banking brands. He has also spent time working in academia and telecommunications.
Adam holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Commerce (1st Class honours) from the University of Auckland majoring in Marketing and International Business.
Adam describes FMG as an iconic New Zealand and rural brand with a long and proud history of helping to build strong and prosperous rural communities. He is enthusiastic about FMG’s ambitious growth strategy and desire to continue supporting clients and members in an increasingly digitalised world.
Evan Johnston EVP, Strategy & Related Business, Wawanesa (Canada)
Evan is the EVP, Strategy and Related Businesses at Wawanesa. He has executive responsibility for several shared services as well as Western Financial Group and Wawanesa Life. Evan is currently the ELT Mentor for Wawanesa’s Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG).
Evan started his career as a corporate lawyer practicing early-stage technology and biotechnology law at a boutique firm in Vancouver. He left Vancouver looking for more pure finance and international experience after having completed his Chartered Financial Analyst designation and spending two summers at the United Nations in New York City. With that in mind, he accepted a role in the Securitization practice in London (England) with Clifford Chance, still the largest international law firm in the world.
Evan left London in 2008 and returned to Canada to join the Securities practice at Blakes in Calgary where he was involved in numerous public and private financings, M&A deals and general commercial transactions.
He remained there until he was recruited by The Forzani Group, a national retailer of sporting goods, to act as its VP, General Counsel. In this role, he led the sale of the company to Canadian Tire in 2011. After the sale, he became the VP, General Counsel at Stuart Olson, a national commercial and industrial construction company based in Calgary, until joining Wawanesa in 2016.
Evan holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.), an LLB, a CFA and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He is also a Fellow with the Life Management Institute and has completed his Chartered Insurance Professional designation. He is the Chair of the Board of the Canada Games Council, a Director of the Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (CAMIC) and the Co-Chair of the Major Corporations Division of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Winnipeg United Way campaigns.
Klaus-Jürgen Heitmann, CEO, HUK-Coburg (Germany)
Klaus-Jürgen Heitmann has been Chairman of the Board of HUK-COBURG Insurance Group since 2017. With more than 11 million insured vehicles, HUK-COBURG is Germany’s largest motor insurer.
After his training as an insurance clerk, followed by his studies in Industrial Engineering and Management specialising in Insurance Economics, Klaus-Jürgen Heitmann launched his career at a management consulting firm in 1996. In 2003, he started working at HUK-COBURG Insurance Group and was appointed a member of the Board of Directors in the following year.
Klaus-Jürgen Heitmann is involved in association work both on a national and on an international level. Apart from his membership in the ICMIF board, he is a board member of AMICE (Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe). On a national level, Klaus-Jürgen Heitmann is a board member of ARGE, the national association of mutual insurance companies, and a member of several panels of the German Insurance Association GDV e. V.
Jan Kamp Justesen, CEO, LB Group (Denmark)
Jan Kamp Justesen is the CEO of LB Forsikring A/S and has been part of the organization since 2007. Prior to his current position Jan was CVO (Chief Value Officer) and CFO (2014-2022). Before these roles Jan held the position as manager of Claims and Reinsurance (2007 – 2010) and the Chief Risk Officer (2010-2014). Before joining LB Forsikring Jan was Execute Director at Willis Towers Watson within Reinsurance broking in the Nordic region. Jan is on the board of Nærsikring (workers’ compensation) and Insurance & Pension Denmark. He holds a MSc in economics from Aarhus University and an Associateship of the Chartered Insurance Institute in London.
P.A. Kiriwandeniya, Chairman, SANASA Insurance Company (Sri Lanka)
Dr Kiri (as he is affectionately known) is a visionary who started SANASA from depleted thrift and credit societies and grew it to become a gigantic people’s movement with entities that compete with the giants of the private sector in Sri Lanka. His efforts have made SANASA a brand name which is considered a landmark in the local business world, and as a successful cooperative enterprise among the world’s cooperative bodies. Dr Kiri is a man whose commitment to the cooperative movement is legendary within Sri Lanka.
He began his professional career as a teacher after having obtained a Social Science Degree from Vidyodaya University and later PhD degree from Ruhuna University, he subsequently worked as the Director of Education at Sarvodaya Movement and Deputy Director of the National Heritage Programme. He is a renowned professional and holds several key positions including the Chairman of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU); Vice Chairman of the ICMIF Asia and Oceania Association (AOA); Director, People’s Bank, Regional Development Bank (Sri Lanka); President, National Institute of Cooperative Management and National Cooperative Council of Sri Lanka; and also Chairman of the Sanasa Development Bank & People’s Bank (Sri Lanka). He is also a Council Member of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura (Sri Lanka).
He facilitates a connection between the people of Sri Lanka and the international cooperative movement. He is a perceptive observer of trends in international development circles and is able to comprehend when those trends can be honestly accommodated within the longstanding objectives of the SANASA movement. Over the years, he has earned an unsullied reputation as a spokesperson for the full range of Sri Lankan society.
Dr Kiri has been continuously engaged in community development over the last five decades. He is keen to facilitate people’s innovations, participatory research and the mobilisation of manpower by providing charity and welfare donations to help people further their own development.
Christoph Lamby, Member of the Board of Management, R+V Versicherung AG (Germany)
Dr Christoph Lamby began his professional career at Gerling, Cologne, in 1989. From 1997 to 2000 he worked for Gerling Global Re in New York. After joining R+V Re in 2002 he became a Member of the Board of Management of R+V Versicherung AG in 2004, with responsibility for the Reinsurance Business Unit.
Dr Lamby received his PhD at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cologne in 1993.
Valérie Lavoie President and Chief Operating Officer, Desjardins General Insurance and Group Executive Vice-President, Property and Casualty Insurance, Desjardins Group (Canada)
Valérie Lavoie joined Desjardins in 1994 and held a number of strategic positions before being named President and Chief Operating Officer of Desjardins General Insurance Group in 2019. She was concurrently appointed to the Desjardins Group Management Committee as Executive Vice-President, Property and Casualty Insurance. Before taking on her current role, Valérie held several positions in actuarial services and distribution. She has always been skilled at rallying her teams around one common objective: doing what’s best for members and clients.
Valérie Lavoie is now in charge of a sector with CAD 6.9 billion in gross premiums written that serves 3.8 million clients across Canada and employs nearly 7,000 people.
Valérie plays an active role in the ongoing evolution of the P&C insurance industry. She is Chair of the Institute of Insurance of Canada, Director of Insurance Bureau au Canada and of Équité Association.
She is also involved in her community. A mother of two, one of her sons is on the autism spectrum and she is dedicated to raising awareness for the cause.
Valérie graduated from Université Laval with a bachelor’s degree in biology and actuarial science.
Pascal Michard, Chairman, Aéma Groupe (France)
Pascal Michard is the Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of Aéma Groupe, France’s fifth largest insurance company since its creation in January 2021. Born from the combination of Macif, Aesio and Abeille Assurances (former Aviva France), Aéma Groupe has 11 million customers and 18,000 employees. Pascal Michard joined Macif’s Board of Directors in 2011, and became Vice-President in charge of finance & savings in 2014. He was elected as Macif’s Chairman in May 2019. He is also a member of the management board of Euresa, a network of 15 mutual and cooperative insurance companies. He holds a PhD in Medicine (MD) from Paris VII University. He began his career as an ophthalmologist and surgeon. He is married and has four children.
Yoshihiko Murayama, Chair, AOA and President of the Board of Directors, Zenkyoren (Japan)
Mr Yoshihiko Murayama has been President of Zenkyoren (National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, Japan) since July 2024.
Mr Murayama joined Zenkyoren in April 1981 and since then he has held positions as General Manager of System Development Support Department, Sales Department, and Saitama Prefectural Headquarters, respectively. Mr Murayama was appointed Managing Director in July 2014, Senior Managing Director in July 2017, and President in July 2024.
Mr Murayama serves as Chair of the ICMIF Asia and Oceania Association (AOA), Member of the ICMIF Executive Committee and Member of the ICMIF Board of Directors.
Patrick Nyaga, Group Chief Executive Officer, CIC Insurance Group (Kenya)
Mr Patrick Nyaga, aged 52 is the Group Chief Executive Officer of CIC Insurance Group. He holds a master of Business Administration from Strathmore Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant (K) and a member of ICPAK. Mr Nyaga has over 29 years' working experience mainly banking and auditing. He has worked in various senior positions in banking.
Prior to joining CIC Group Ltd he was the Group Finance and Strategy Director-at Cooperative Bank of Kenya Limited. He previously worked at Barclays Banknow (ABSA) as the Regional Head of Assurance and at KPMG (EA), with the main focus being audit of financial institutions in Kenya and the region.He is a member of the Institute of Directors of Kenya and has undertaken training in several Corporate Governance courses including in Insurance Business.
Robert Otto, Member of the Executive Board, Achmea (Netherlands)
Robert Otto joined the Executive Board of Achmea in August 2015. Mr Otto completed his law degree at Leiden University. After his study, Mr Otto began his career at ING in 1992. At ING Mr Otto had an international career including country board roles in Asia and Eastern Europe. In his last position at the bancassurance group, he was responsible for ING Insurance and Postbank Insurance. After a two-year period as CEO of OHRA, Robert Otto became general director of Delta Lloyd’s commercial division in 2010. In mid-2013, Mr Otto joined Achmea as Chairman of the Non-Life & Income Protection division.
His core responsibilities within the Executive Board until 1 September 2019 include the Centraal Beheer, Interpolis and Non-Life & Income Protection divisions, division International and Market Strategy and Corporate Relations. Starting from September 2019, Mr Otto will be responsible for Pension & Life, Achmea Bank, HR, InShared and Achmea’s companies in Australia, Canada, Greece, Turkey and Slovakia. In addition to his role at Achmea, Robert Otto is, among others, a member of the Board at Thuiswinkel.org, member of the Board at AMICE, Chairman of board of Non-Life Insurance at the Dutch Association of Insurers and Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of Hagelunie and InShared.
Barry O’Dwyer, Group Chief Executive Officer, Royal London (United Kingdom)
Barry O’Dwyer is Group Chief Executive Officer of Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual life insurance and pensions company. He is an actuary and has extensive experience in financial services, having previously worked at Standard Life, HBOS and Prudential. He plays a prominent role in the industry and is currently on the Board of the Association of British Insurers.
Daysi Rosales, General Manager, Seguros Futuro (El Salvador)
Daysi has 25 years of experience and contribution to the cooperative sector in El Salvador, through the different positions in the FEDECACES Corporation – the Federation of Credit Unions of El Salvador, which is comprised of a group of credit unions. She has a Degree in Public Accounting from the University of El Salvador. From 1990 to 1996 she was a Technical Advisor, contributing to the development of the first FEDECACES technical support department. In 1997, she became Head of Administration and Human Resources, and External Audit, responsible for FEDECACES human talent and administrative policies, and the External Audit Department for credit unions.
In 2001, she was appointed Manager of Seguros Futuro, the first insurance cooperative in El Salvador, and then was Manager of FEDECACES from 2003 to 2006. Since 2007, she has served as General Manager of Seguros Futuro. She is also a speaker at various national and international events related to topics on cooperatives, financial matters, insurance and microinsurance, quality systems, reinsurance and others.
Rod Scanlon, CEO, Capricorn Mutual (Australia)
Rod was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Capricorn Risk Division in May 2023, which acts as the manager for Capricorn Mutual Limited.
As CEO of Capricorn Risk, Rod is accountable for providing strategic guidance, oversight, and leadership for the effective stewardship of the Capricorn Risk Division, achieving the prescribed strategic outcomes and profits, while controlling major functions relating to the operation and administration of the business units through reporting and management. Rod’s accountabilities also include serving as an executive director providing corporate oversight on Capricorn wholly owned subsidiary companies such as Capricorn Insurance Services (CIS), Capricorn Risk Services (CRS) and Capricorn Mutual Management (CMM). Through the Risk Division, Rod manages the operational and strategic planning for Capricorn Mutual Limited (CML).
Rod has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry and joined Capricorn Risk after a successful 11-year career at Suncorp, where he held a number of senior and executive management roles. This included owning the planning and reporting function for an AUD $8b business – providing a breadth of exposure to the pillars of a very sophisticated General Insurance business.
Rod holds a Bachelor of Commerce and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Alejandro Sultani, President, El Progreso Seguros S.A. (Argentina)
Since 1993, Alejandro has been linked to the insurance activity, having occupied several managerial and director positions of insurance companies, initially in the area of claims and legal and then assuming the General Manager function of an Insurance Company up to the present day.
He is currently President of El Progreso Seguros S.A., La Territorial Vida y Salud Compañía de Seguros S.A. and San Patricio Seguros S.A. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of El Progreso Agrícola de Pigüé, Cooperativa Limitada de Vivienda, Crédito y Otros Servicios, Primera Cooperativa Argentina, founded on October 1, 1898, a solidarity entity that preceded the current insurance company until 2001. He frequently collaborates in the writing of articles and commentaries related to the insurance market, in the different media of the sector.
Alejandro has participated in numerous Conferences, Seminars, National and International Congresses related to Insurance Law and the Insurance market in general. He is a graduate of the School of Law and Social Sciences (University Buenos Aires) and in addition to his directorship with the AACMS he is also a member of various insurance associations. Alejandro is married with two children.
Nick Turner, Group Chief Executive, NFU Mutual (UK)
Nick was appointed Group Chief Executive of NFU Mutual in April 2021 after eight years on the board as Sales & Agency Director, and is responsible for managing the business of the UK’s leading rural insurer.
Nick first joined the NFU Mutual board in 2013 and for eight years, managed the Group’s Agency network across the UK, as well as Distribution and Sales for General Insurance and Financial Services .
Nick has a long association with the Chartered Insurance Institute and was President in 2019/20.
In 2016/17, he was President of the CII’s Personal Finance Society, the professional body for financial advisers across the UK. Prior to becoming president, Nick was member Director for five years bringing both strategic and practical expertise to the Personal Finance Society board.
Before joining NFU Mutual, Nick spent 27 years at AXA in a wide variety of roles in Sales and Business Development as well as Marketing and Strategy across Life, General Insurance and Global Partnerships.
Nick enjoys playing guitar, drawing graphic novels and rural walking with his partner Dee, and their bearded collie, Habibi.
Shuichi Uchikoshi, President, Kokumin Kyosai Co-op (Japan)
Mr Shuichi Uchikoshi is President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kokumin Kyosai Co-op (National Federation of Workers and Consumers Kyosai Cooperatives, formerly known as Zenrosai until 1 June 2019). Based on the cooperative principle, Kokumin Kyosai Co-op provides mutual aid services using insurance system called “Kyosai” in Japanese for its members. It was established in 1957 and has mainly been run by trade union members as a part of the workers’ welfare movement: however, its service expands to non-unionized workers and consumers in the community today.
Mr Uchikoshi joined Hitachi, Ltd., one of the leading electronics companies in Japan. Soon he also started to serve in the trade union and held senior positions in its group unions throughout his career. He joined Kokumin Kyosai Co-op as Head Director of Ibaraki prefectural office in 2013, and then became Head Director of Eastern Regional Office in 2021. In August 2023, he was elected as President of the federation by the General Assembly.
Mr Yoon Hae-jin, CEO, NongHyup Life Insurance (Republic of Korea)
In 1990, Mr Yoon joined the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation(NACF). From 2012, Mr Yoon was Sales Support Team Head for Nonghyup Bank Gyeongnam until 2017 when he moved to the Mutual Finance Credit Department. In 2020, he became Director of Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters before moving to the role of Trust Division Head of Nonghyup Bank in 2022. Most recently, in 2023, Mr Yoon became President & CEO of Nonghyup Life Insurance.