Allianz Partners strengthens its leadership team with two new Board appointments

Elena Edwards, Chief Markets Officer

Most recently CEO of Allianz Partners USA and Regional CEO for North America, Elena Edwards has been appointed Chief Markets Officer and member of Allianz Partners’ Board of Management, effective from February 1st 2022. In this role, Elena will focus on steering Allianz Partners’ business units across the globe to ensure growth and profitability. She will also continue in her role as Regional CEO for North America.

Elena first joined Allianz Partners in 2019 as the General Manager for the US Business Unit, where she provided executive leadership on strategy, prioritization and execution. Then in June 2020, Elena was promoted to CEO of Allianz Partners USA and in July 2021, she took on an additional role as Regional CEO for North America, successfully managing the US and Canadian Business Units. Prior to joining Allianz Partners, Edwards held a number of executive positions at General Electric and Genworth over 30 years, including 17 years in the insurance industry.

Laurent Floquet, Chief Transformation Officer

Effective from January 1st 2022, Laurent Floquet has been nominated as Chief Transformation Officer and Board Member of Allianz Partners, succeeding Philipp Kroetz who was appointed CEO of Allianz Direct.

Laurent has a strong track record of driving business growth through transformation, innovation and change management during his career and specifically in his most recent role as Regional CEO for North, Central and Eastern Europe at Allianz Partners since 2019.

Previously as Global Chief Sales Officer for Assistance from 2016 to 2020, he managed the sales and revenue for this business line. Laurent first joined the Allianz Group in 2014 as Head of Business Development for Allianz Technology. He brings a wealth of experience in leading transformation programs to his current role, including the expertise he gained during more than 13 years at Accenture, where he successfully delivered significant transformation programs for insurance companies.

"We are delighted to have such remarkable appointments in both Elena and Laurent. They each bring an outstanding professional track record and deep sector expertise which will be instrumental in helping to significantly grow and transform our business across the globe.

Elena’s successful tenure leading our US business through the pandemic attests to her character, resilience and leadership qualities in navigating through uncertainty and seizing new opportunities. Laurent has driven strategic change throughout his career, and in the NCEE region, he was able to improve performance while accelerating organizational and operational changes. I firmly believe that both of these strategic appointments will help us to capitalize on the increase in opportunities for our business in the months and years ahead, and I look forward to working even closer together."