Generali Switzerland, part of the global Generali Group, a Swiss insurance and financial services provider, is restructuring its insurance division by separating its life and non-life insurance businesses as of July 1, 2025.
Ralph Schmid will continue in his role as chief insurance officer, life insurance, and will completely refocus on the life business after guiding key initiatives in the non-life division over the past three years to lay the foundation for improved profitability.
The company also announced that Yvan Berthou will join the executive board as chief insurance officer, non-life, on January 1, 2026.
Berthou has more than 20 years of international insurance experience, having held positions at Zurich Insurance Group as pricing actuary and global head of underwriting, retail pricing and performance, and most recently as global head of automotive. His expertise in non-life insurance is expected to support profitability and growth of the segment.
Swiss Generali will also welcome new leadership in the areas of finance, technology and operations. Eliana Sarli will serve as Chief Financial Officer starting in March 2026 and will join on January 1, 2026 as Chief of Financial Staff and Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
Sarli has 15 years of experience in Italian and international finance, risk and actuarial functions and currently oversees Generali’s group capital management, including capital planning, M&A and shareholder remuneration strategies. Current Chief Financial Officer Alessio Sarti will return to Group headquarters to take on a new role in Group Finance after 19 years in Switzerland, where he led major projects such as the implementation of IFRS 9/17.
Michel Foong will assume the role of Chief Technology and Operations Officer on March 1, 2026. Foong has more than 20 years of international experience in finance and insurance, leading IT transformation initiatives for Swiss Re and UBS, including cloud migration, core systems implementation and artificial intelligence initiatives. He succeeds Andreas Schlögl, who leaves the company after 12 years and most recently oversaw the Transformation and Technology & Operations divisions.
Deborah Bass will serve as director of communications and public affairs effective January 1, 2026. Bass has more than ten years of experience in communications and marketing management. He was previously responsible for integrated communications at Credit Suisse during the UBS acquisition and is currently responsible for communications and business management of products, channels and marketing at UBS, succeeding Stefan Göbel.
Generali Group CEO Rémi Vrignaud expressed his confidence in the new leadership team: “We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues to Generali Groupe. Under the new leadership team, we are systematically making our business more future-proof. Our goals are clear: to ensure profitability, drive growth and become the partner of choice for our customers, sales partners and employees.”
Vrignaud also recognized the contribution of Alessio Sarti and Andreas Schlögl, acknowledging their long-standing dedication and significant influence on the development of the Swiss Generali Group.
The board approved the changes on December 3, 2025. These changes are subject to FINMA confirmation and other necessary regulatory approvals.