Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty appoints new Global Head of Human Resources

• Dr Melanie Gillig, currently Regional Head of Human Resources for Central and Eastern Europe will be appointed AGCS Global Head of Human Resources as of January 1, 2020.
• Current Global Head of Human Resources, Dot Cownie, will retire from AGCS effective December 31, 2019.

Johannesburg/London/Munich/New York/Paris/Sao Paolo/Singapore – July 3, 2019: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS), the corporate insurance carrier of Allianz Group, announces the appointment of Dr Melanie Gillig as Global Head of Human Resources (HR) effective January 1, 2020. She will succeed Dot Cownie, who retires from AGCS at the end of 2019, and report to Chief Operating Officer Bettina Dietsche. Dr Gillig is currently Regional Head of HR for Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), and she will work together with Ms Cownie over the coming months to ensure smooth handover. A successor for Melanie in Central and Eastern Europe will be announced at a later date. As a key global line of Allianz Group, AGCS employs 4,400 staff of 70 nationalities in its own 34 office locations globally.

In her new, globally focused role, Dr Gillig will lead the delivery of a range of strategic HR topics on behalf of AGCS, including support of broader change and transformation initiatives across the business, leadership and talent development, mobility and flexible working, plus diversity, inclusion and wellbeing. Another key area of focus for Dr Gillig, both now and in the coming years will be to further develop the digital skills and mindset of the AGCS global employee population as well as attract and recruit a millennial workforce for these skills in order to meet demands of the evolving business environment.

Chief Operating Officer and AGCS Board Member Bettina Dietsche says “I’m very pleased to welcome Melanie to my global leadership team – she brings deep knowledge of HR through both her educational background and her leadership in one of the key AGCS regions for more than four years. I know that she will enable our global HR team to build on Dot’s great work and drive forward this fundamental part of our company, working hand in hand with the wider business. Also, my heartfelt thanks to Dot – her expertise, professionalism and positive energy will be very much missed by all of us here at AGCS.”

Dr Gillig joined AGCS as Regional Head of HR for CEE in January 2015, and since that time, she gained relevant insights which she will apply on a global scale in the new role. Originally joining Allianz Group in 2007 as Executive Assistant to the CFO of Allianz Germany, she then spent more than five years in increasingly senior regional and divisional sales management roles for the sales and consulting division of Allianz Germany. As a part of the sales focused roles and during her studies she also regularly dealt with HR topics. Dr Gillig holds a Ph.D from the Technical University in Munich as well as a diploma in business management from Ludwigs-Maximilian University in Munich.

Ms Cownie joined AGCS in April 2016, and has over 20 years experience in a variety of senior financial services HR roles. She retires from AGCS to pursue her long-held personal interest in supporting youth and leadership development in the voluntary sector.

About Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is a leading global corporate insurance carrier and a key business unit of Allianz Group. We provide risk consultancy, Property-Casualty insurance solutions and alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and specialty risks across 12 dedicated lines of business.

Our customers are as diverse as business can be, ranging from Fortune Global 500 companies to small businesses, and private individuals. Among them are not only the world’s largest consumer brands, tech companies and the global aviation and shipping industry, but also wineries, satellite operators or Hollywood film productions. They all look to AGCS for smart answers to their largest and most complex risks in a dynamic, multinational business environment and trust us to deliver an outstanding claims experience.

Worldwide, AGCS operates with its own teams in 34 countries and through the Allianz Group network and partners in over 200 countries and territories, employing over 4,400 people. As one of the largest Property-Casualty units of Allianz Group, we are backed by strong and stable financial ratings. In 2018, AGCS generated a total of €8.2 billion gross premium globally.

For more information please visit http://www.agcs.allianz.com/ or follow us on Twitter @AGCS_Insurance and LinkedIn.