Trade credit insurer Euler Hermes has made two key appointments in its Asia Pacific region naming Clemens Philippi as chief executive officer (CEO) of Euler Hermes ASEAN and Benoit Ganzmann as CEO of China.
Philippi will be based in Singapore and assume responsibility for the firms activities in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as ASEAN CEO, with effect from August 17th.
Ganzmann is set to take up his new Shanghai based role from September 1st, he brings years of China experience with Euler Hermes including having worked as regional risk director since 2015.
Ganzmann succeeds Victor Jiang who recently left the firm to join Allianz China General Insurance to take up a position as chief transformation officer.
Both Philippi and Ganzmann will report to Holger Schaefer, head of Euler Hermes APAC region, who commented on the appointments; “With his wealth of experience, Clemens is a valuable addition to the leadership team as we progress our strategic growth in Singapore and key markets in Southeast Asia.
“For the China market, we will draw on Benoit’s experience in credit and risk management as well as his strong country knowledge. He will also work closely with our CPIC Euler Hermes joint venture team.”
As part of the firm’s long-term growth strategy in the APAC region, the new CEOs will focus on customer centricity, transformation and profitability, said Euler Hermes.
Chairman of the Euler Hermes Board of Management, Wilfried Verstraete, added; “As a leading and dynamic multi-product hub, ASEAN is a key part of our growth strategy. China’s large-scale credit insurance market has significant growth potential. As well as being the second largest economy, China is the largest exporter in the world since joining World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.
“With the roll-out of its Belt and Road Initiative, and the fact that more Chinese companies are becoming global in reach, the need for credit protection is expected to rise considerably.
“Building on this opportunity, these appointments will help reinforce our market leadership and deliver our promise to be the most trusted insurer for our clients and partners across the region.”
