DVS wants more democratic process for presidential election

Klaus Greimel, the former vice president, who assumed the role of acting president in October following the departure of Stefan Sigulla, is the board’s suggestion to serve as the next president. Jurand Honisch, senior vice president corporate risk management & insurance at Bertelsmann, is being recommended to serve as vice president. “We will present a proposal on the set up of the board, but in the end it is the right of the committee to say whether they approve of our suggestions or would like changes,” said Mr Greimel, managing director of E.ON Risk Consulting GmbH. Mr Greimel emphasised that it was vitally important for DVS’s voting committee—comprised of about 90 members, including the board itself—to give their input on potential candidates to lead the association. The committee members are elected by the DVS general assembly. hideIn past years, it was common that only one name was put forward to the voting body, such as past DVS leaders Ralf Oelssner, the retired risk manager at German airline Lufthansa A.G., and Mr Sigulla, the former insurance head at engineering and electronics giant Siemens. “We would like to have a more democratic process and more transparency,” Mr Greimel explained. To achieve that, the DVS board intends to send out its list of suggested candidates from the current board of directors well in advance of the 5 May membership meeting, during which the vote will take place. That would give time for the voting committee to declare their support for the slate or to suggest other candidates if they choose. The position of president opened up when Mr Sigulla announced in September that he was leaving his position at Siemens to join the main board of HDI-Gerling Industrie. In addition, DVS’ treasurer, Friedrich Schuessler, announced that he is leaving BASF, which means that two board positions will need to be filled, Mr Greimel said. Whoever assumes the leadership of DVS, the next president will face a number of weighty issues. Among them will be to further facilitate the dialogue between buyers and insurers on additional risks that could be placed in the market. When corporations do risk mapping, typically 8% to 10% of those risks can be transferred into the market, Mr Greimel said. “I think we should challenge the insurers more as to whether there are any others risks we could transfer into the traditional market,” he explained. “I know that it is not just the fault of the insurers. I realise also internally it is very hard to get transparency on certain types of risks,” Mr Greimel continued. “But we have to do our homework first: identify the risks, evaluate the risks with the help of the insurance market, and see where we could have a product or solution to transfer certain risks at least at a higher level than we have at the moment. “It is more that the insurance buyers have to come up with ideas,” he added. Besides discussions with the insurance industry, DVS also needs to examine its own internal structure, Mr Greimel said. He praised the current professional staff, but believes the structure should be reviewed to make sure “we are utilising them in the right way.”

DVS wants more democratic process for presidential election

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