Transforming Allianz

BY MOST measures, reinventing a 128-year-old insurance giant from the inside out is a tall order. But the challenge seems particularly formidable when the driver of the transformation is a relatively young chief executive, who is not a company "lifer''.

Allianz Group chief executive and board chairman Oliver Bate, 52, insists that the "Renewal Agenda'' is not his brainchild. But like it or not, the ambitious five-prong action plan will almost certainly be the hallmark of his term. The plan aims to bring the Munich-headquartered group into the digital age, while improving profitability, customer satisfaction, technical competence and inclusivity - all at the same time.

The key, Mr Bate says, is to pull the 142,000-strong staff along the often-prickly path of change, not to push them. In this, he belies his consulting roots, co-opting more than 100 key staffers into the conceptualisation phase, and getting them to own the vision. Mr Bate was a 14-year veteran at McKinsey & Co before he joined Allianz.