Global Head Risk and Insurance

About the role

We are looking for a Global Head of Risk & Insurance to join our Zurich-based team. Reporting directly to the gategroup Chief Legal Officer, the role manages group-wide enterprise risks and non-life insurance programs, including developing and implementing the company’s strategic vision for risk and insurance management.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

• Develop and implement the risk management strategy for gategroup globally, aligning it with regional and functional goals.
• Lead innovation, governance and management for gategroup’s corporate Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) system to promote risk-informed business decisions and to support the achievement of strategic objectives.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate strategic and dominant operational risks together with functional risk owners and with the Corporate Risk Council.
• Update and report enterprise risks to designated gategroup management and board committees.
• Develop and adapt ERM tools, practices, and policies in compliance with applicable regulations, rating agency standards, and gategroup’s strategic imperatives.

Insurance Management

• Lead the corporate insurance team and provide functional and process leadership for risk, insurance and claims management throughout the group.
• Protect company assets and liabilities by optimising risk transfer and managing the global insurance portfolio.
• Procure and periodically renew group-wide non-life insurance programs and other relevant insurance products where global protection is required or adds value.
• Maintain marketable risk quality in all lines of insurance through appropriate training, risk engineering and loss control programs.
• Oversee the investigation and resolution of claims, ensuring proper documentation and tracking of future financial liabilities.
• Serve as the primary operational contact for insurers, reinsurers, underwriters, and external brokers.
• Optimise insurance management processes, including annual renewal, value collection, claims handling and insurance cost allocation.
• Report selected insurance performance data and process performance indicators for presentation on the corporate gateperform platform.
• Contribute risk and insurance expertise in cross-functional projects such as contract review, M&A due diligence and guideline development.

Core Competencies and Requirements

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, economics, statistics or law.
• Professional certification in Risk Management.

Work Experience

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in the international insurance and risk management industry.
• At least 5 years’ experience in leading & developing enterprise risk management and/or insurance management teams within a complex global matrix environment.

Technical / Language Skills  

• Expertise in risk-informed decision-making capabilities, effectively evaluating information from multiple sources and committing to action in complex and ambiguous situations.
• Expertise in insurance policy forms and in contract analysis.
• Experience with Microsoft Office apps, particularly strong Excel skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex risk topics clearly and effectively to senior management and diverse stakeholder groups.
• Expertise in integrating AI into various business processes, enhancing efficiency, and fostering a culture of data-driven innovation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and German; additional languages a plus.

Core Competencies Required

• Strategic Enterprise & Risk Thinking – Applies holistic, forward-looking and risk-informed thinking to anticipate challenges, navigate ambiguity and enable sound enterprise-wide business decisions.
• Results & Accountability Leadership – Takes active ownership, sets clear priorities and drives execution to deliver measurable risk, insurance and business outcomes.
• Executive Influence & Stakeholder Partnership – Builds trusted relationships and communicates complex topics with clarity and impact to influence senior leaders and diverse stakeholders.
• OneTeam Leadership & Talent Development – Builds high-performing teams, develops talent and fosters collaboration across functions and regions to achieve shared objectives.
• Transformation & Continuous Improvement – Champions change and leverages data, technology and AI to continuously improve risk and insurance processes, capabilities and efficiency.