New IDF Chair Announced

The Insurance Development Forum (IDF) is delighted to announce the appointment of Michel M. Liès as its next Steering Committee Chair with effect from 19th April 2022. The IDF is a public / private partnership led by the insurance industry and whose members include the United Nations, the World Bank Group and other international organisations.

Michel M. Liès, who is Chairman of Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) and Deputy Chair of the IDF Steering Committee, will succeed Denis Duverne, Chairman of the Board at AXA, who has been IDF Steering Committee Chair since September 2018.

Mr Liès has extensive experience of the insurance sector, having spent over four decades with Swiss Re – including as Group CEO from 2012 until his retirement from the company in 2016. He has been Chairman of Zurich since April 2018 and continues to shape the insurance sector’s strategic direction, including as a vocal proponent of its role in addressing Sustainability challenges. He is a member of the Institute of International Finance Board, European Financial Services Roundtable and World Economic Forum Community of Chairmen.

Michel M. Liès, IDF Steering Committee Chair Designate and Chairman of Zurich Insurance Group, said: 

“The IDF has made an outstanding policy and operational impact in recent years, delivering the first three country programmes under the Tripartite Agreement, as well as significant mobilisation of new resources in support of the climate and disaster risk financing agenda. This is due in no small part to the Steering Committee under the leadership of Denis Duverne and to the IDF’s working groups, our fast-growing membership, and our partners and supporters.

While some countries have increased their resilience to climate change, the urgency of the climate crisis calls for much greater speed. This creates a critical role for advocacy about the importance of risk management and insurance in supporting development. In addition, the need for effective cross-sector collaboration to deliver meaningful change has never been more important and this must be a key priority in the immediate term.

It is an honour and privilege to be asked to Chair the IDF’s Steering Committee alongside co-Chairs Achim Steiner and Hiroshi Matano and I would like to thank Denis for the outstanding contribution he has made in championing the work of the IDF. We are on a journey – including extending partnerships, accelerating our operational programmes and mobilising new resources in support of the climate and disaster risk financing agenda – and I am confident that the IDF will remain a key institution for bringing about systemic change.”