Allianz Commercial searches for CEO as Papanikolaou moves to group role

Allianz Commercial is looking for a new CEO after it was confirmed to newswires that Petros Papanikolaou has been given a new role within the group just eight months after taking the helm from Joachim Müller.

Allianz board member Chris Townsend, who is also chairman of the supervisory board, will fill in as CEO of Allianz Commercial until a permanent successor is appointed, the company said in a statement to newswires.

Papanikolaou will become executive director of group strategic initiatives at Allianz SE from 1 September. He was CEO of Central Europe for Allianz before he was appointed CEO and chairman of the board at AGCS and CEO of Allianz Commercial in January 2024. He took over from Müller, who was largely credited for turning around AGCS and establishing Allianz Commercial, before announcing his exit from the corporate after more than 13 years at the group.