Studied business administration, University of Cologne; MBA, NYU Leonard Stern School of Business. Started career with McKinsey & Company in New York; then in Germany; 1998, took over McKinsey’s German insurance practice; 2003, Director in charge of the firm’s European insurance and asset management sector. With Allianz: 2008, Member of the Board of Management and Global Chief Operating Officer; September 2009, Chief Financial Officer; from January 2013, responsible for Insurance Western and Southern Europe and Global P&C markets; since May 2015, Chairman of the Board of Management.