Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), a division of global re/insurer Allianz, is looking to develop a ‘data first’ decision making culture with the appointment of Ali Shahkarami as Chief Data Officer, a newly created position.
His appointment is effective April 1st, 2020 and sees Shahkarami take responsibility for the development and delivery of AGCS’ data strategy, reporting to AGCS Chief Operating Officer (COO), Bettina Dietsche.
Expanding on his new responsibilities, AGCS explains that Shahkarami will have a focus on aligning a number of data initiatives, tools and investments with the firm’s business and data strategy as well as the group’s data strategy.
The AGCS Data Solutions & Architecture team will report directly to Shahkarami and together, they will empower and expand the company’s data governance framework to ensure both privacy and fidelity of all data and applications.
Shahkarami joined AGCS in 2012 as Head of Catastrophe Risk Research. In 2018, he transitioned to the firm’s digital incubator XSE, serving as Global Capability Lead for Underwriting. AGCS notes that a successor to this role will be announced shortly.
Commenting on the appointment, Dietsche said: “Data and analytics are of vital importance for our success and for supporting our clients – not only for reporting and steering but also to boost analytic capabilities in Underwriting and Claims and discover new insights and opportunities. That’s why it is so important that we created this position with a clear mandate to drive our data initiatives forward.
“I wish Ali Shahkarami every success in this important role and trust that he and his team will help to further strengthen our data and analytics capabilities.”
