Baloise CEO claims upper hand in cancer battle, heads back to business

Baloise CEO Gert De Winter (pictured) has returned after more than six months of cancer treatments to retake the reins at the Swiss insurer.

“I am very, very glad to be back,” De Winter told his company's H1 investor call. “The last six-seven months have not been that easy given my cancer therapy, but I got through it.”

De Winter met a plan to be back in office from the start of August and is now “fully back at work,” he said.

Ahead of the call, De Winter had told Switzerland’s Handelszeitung that he had undergone six cycles of chemo and one major surgery for oesophageal cancer, during which time he lost 20 kilos.

“I'm cancer-free and the prognosis is positive,” he said of a more upbeat bottom line.

De Winter received the cancer diagnosis at the end of 2021. By January 6, Baloise had announced a “reduced schedule” for De Winter which the firm said would probably last into the summer of 2022.

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