Swiss Re hires former regulator as CRO

Swiss Re has appointed the former CEO of Switzerland's financial market supervisory authority FINMA as its chief risk officer.

Patrick Raaflaub was the CEO of FINMA between 2009 and 2014. Before this, he worked for Swiss Re holding several positions including, among others, chief financial officer of Swiss Re Italia, regional chief financial officer Europe and Asia, and finally head of group capital management.

Raaflaub will join Swiss Re as a member of its group executive committee and new group chief risk officer (CRO) from September.

Walter Kielholz, chairman of the board of directors of Swiss Re, said: "I am very pleased that we could attract a person of such calibre as Patrick Raaflaub as our new Group CRO. He was instrumental in turning FINMA into an effective regulatory body amidst the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s. Of course, he knows Swiss Re very well from his previous work with us, and now with additional experience gained in the public sector, he is very well equipped to navigate Swiss Re through the risk and regulatory challenges ahead.”