Allianz welcomes Hanna Kam as Chief Risk Officer and Jason Howes as Chief Transformation Officer

Authored by Allianz

Allianz UK has made two key changes to its most senior leadership layer, welcoming Hanna Kam to the company as chief risk officer, and promoting Jason Howes to chief transformation officer.

The senior moves reflect an ongoing strategic drive to grow and strengthen Allianz in the UK and follow recent steps to build wider consumer and market awareness of the Allianz brand.

Hanna joins as chief risk officer on 1 June, subject to regulatory approval, and will be a member of the Allianz UK Executive Committee. She has more than 25 years’ global experience in the insurance industry and is a recognised senior leader in risk management.

Most recently she was group chief risk officer at Hiscox for almost ten years and was responsible globally for enterprise risk management and compliance. A qualified actuary, she has also held senior roles with EY and Zurich Australia.

John Berry, chief risk officer for Allianz UK, has decided to step down following ten years at the company in a variety of senior leadership roles, including over four years as chief risk officer, and will pursue new opportunities within the Allianz Group. John joined Allianz in 2015 following a previous career at WTW and was appointed chief underwriting officer for personal lines in 2017. He became overall chief risk officer in January 2020 for Allianz in the UK.

Colm Holmes, Allianz Holdings CEO, commented: “John has played a key role in the history of Allianz UK, including as chief underwriting officer of personal lines, alongside setting up the joint venture with LV= and then navigating Covid and more recent market challenges as chief risk officer. He helped to bring the different parts of our business together to create one Allianz. I’d like to thank John for his huge contribution.”

John Berry added: “We have built a great platform for future success and I am very proud of all of Allianz’s achievements. It’s been a fantastic privilege to work with Colm and the Executive Committee over the years, and I wish the team the very best for the future.”

Allianz has also today announced the creation of the new role of chief transformation officer, which will be taken up on 1 June by Jason Howes. He brings almost 27 years’ industry experience to the role, including more than two decades with Allianz, and his previous role was director of business transformation at Allianz. Jason will oversee all large-scale change projects and initiatives in the Allianz UK business.

Both roles will report to Colm Holmes, who added: “This is a pivotal and exciting time for us as we align our businesses to deliver the combined strength of one Allianz, and work towards becoming the number one general insurer in the UK. These two senior leaders take up vitally important roles and will help drive our strategic momentum for growth.

“I’m delighted Hanna is joining us, she brings a wealth of global insurance industry experience and a compelling blend of board, risk and regulatory exposure. She has a track record of strong leadership and excels at delivering change and results in complex environments. Her insights will be invaluable in supporting the overall growth strategy for the business.

“And as we move our business forward, it is imperative that we continue to manage major change projects effectively, so we have created a new role of chief transformation officer, which I am delighted to welcome Jason into. He’s achieved a huge amount at Allianz and I’m sure he will continue to do so.”