Zurich Names Sommer Middle East Chief Operating Officer

Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. announced the appointment of Rainer Sommer as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Middle East General Insurance, a newly created position. He will lead the development and management of the operations for Global Corporate and General Insurance in the Middle East.

Sommer joins the Middle East Region from iCON, Zurich’s internal consulting unit located in Zurich. He will be based in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) and will report to Saad Mered, CEO of Zurich Middle East, the business unit responsible for driving ZIC’s activities in the region.

Prior to joining Zurich in 2007, Sommer spent over five years with Boston Consulting Group where he was a Principal, advising insurance companies on growth strategies, cost effectiveness and business building. Before consulting, he was an entrepreneur for over four years, managing his own company developing software and hardware solutions for companies in the financial services and industry sectors.

Sommer has lived in Germany, Switzerland and the United States and is fluent in English and German. He holds a Doctorate in Applied Mathematics from University of Erlangen where he finished with ‘magna cum laude’.

The bulletin also noted that the Zurich Insurance Company was granted an insurance license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority in June 2009 to operate in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). “It will focus its operations on assisting large global corporate customers and their local insurers in addressing their complex and difficult to place risks; whilst using the DIFC to further develop its presence across the Middle East and North Africa region.”

Source: Zurich: www.zurich.com