MULTICULTURALISM 49 I SOCIETE GENERALE 2013-2014 E J Swiss Re celebrated its 150th anniversary last year and Societe Generale is celebrating its own 150th anniversary this year. Both our companies are steeped in history and both have been able to innovate and transform while remaining true to themselves. In your current role, you initiated a transformation yourself: you announced that the 20 main executive positions within your organisation would be redistributed and that anyone could submit their application. To my knowledge, this is totally unprecedented. ean-Jacques HENCHOZ, Chief Executive Officer, Reinsurance Europe, Middle East and Africa, Swiss Re When I took on my role, I realised that the results were good overall but the organisation was suffering from a lack of energy and particularly from a lack of diversity. This was reflected by a leadership style that was too consensusbased, in my view. Therefore we launched a change initiative that would reorganise our division and redistribute management positions internally. We opened up the selection to candidates from all areas, both in terms of areas of the world and professional profiles. For example, we accepted the principle that an actuarial team comprised of mathematicians could be managed by a non-mathematician, something unheard of 10 years ago. Now that the process is complete, we have a much more diverse management team by any standard. In terms of gender diversity, the proportion of women has risen from about 15% to 40%. I immediately noticed a change in mindset. The newly appointed managers brought new energy, an authentic management style and a renewal of the company's culture. And customer feedback has been very positive according to our regular surveys. douard-Malo HENRY, Head of Group Human Resources, Societe Generale JEAN-JACQUES HENCHOZ A member of Swiss Re Group's Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer of Reinsurance for Europe, the Middle East and Africa since 2012. Having begun his career in the public sector, including a post at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), he joined Swiss Re in 1998, where he was named Director of Property and Casualty Insurance, Director of Canadian Operations and Director for Europe prior to taking on his current role. TRANSFORMATION E.-M. H. : Building diversity is also one of our biggest priorities. We are present in 76 countries. Because of our origins in France and our French head office, French nationals have a strong presence in our organisation. However, we are aware that our management should better reflect the multicultural diversity that is our company's reality today. Likewise, we believe that diversity in management style is essential, even though everyone should respect shared values. This is particularly important now, as our business lines undergo transformation and change occurs at an accelerating pace. When everything around you is quickly evolving, it makes sense to ask yourself how management can also develop and how to achieve the best leadership approach. We are aware that our management should better reflect our multicultural diversity TEAM SPIRIT
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