Allianz CEO Diekmann to step aside for Baete in May
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Allianz extended the contract of Chief Executive Michael Diekmann by less than expected on Thursday, saying it would appoint Oliver Baete as the new chief of Europe's largest insurer from May 7 next year.
Baete, 49, was Allianz's board member for insurance operations in Western and Southern Europe, and had been seen as front runner for the job.
The transition comes at a delicate time for Allianz, which is trying to restore order at its fund business Pimco following defections by investors and top executives, and also to overhaul its insurance operations in the United States.
Diekmann's current contract was due to expire in December, when he will also have turned 60, the traditional retirement age for top executives at the insurer. But investors had widely expected him to stay in his role for a further one to two years.
Ex-McKinsey executive Baete joined Allianz's board in 2008, serving as chief operating officer and chief financial officer before moving into his current regional role last year.
That move was part of an Allianz plan to give Baete hands-on, operational experience in insurance, Diekmann said at the time, fuelling speculation he was being groomed for the top job.
One Allianz manager familiar with Baete's progress said the plan appeared to be working, with Baete showing impressive technical knowledge on nuts-and-bolts insurance issues.
The supervisory board on Thursday praised Diekmann for steering Allianz through the financial crisis and asked that he be available for election to that body by the annual meeting of shareholders in 2017.
(Reporting by Jonathan Gould; editing by Thomas Atkins and Georgina Prodhan)
