Michel Liés: Swiss Re CEO

Michel Liés was born in Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France in 1954. A citizen of Luxemburg he earned a mathematics degree at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. Before joining Swiss Re, Michel was Chief Financial Officer of a ceramics company serving in Sao Paulo and Mogi Guaca, Brazil.

In 1978, he joined Swiss Re focusing on Latin American Life & Health markets. Michel became head of Swiss Re Ibéria & Latin America Property & Casualty in 1994. He became a Member of Swiss Re’s Executive Board by 1998 and Head of the Latin America Division. Michel was Head of Europe Division starting 2000 and also served as the as the company’s Head Clients Markets, where he was in charge of all client relationships globally. He was a member of the Group’s Executive Committee beginning 2005.

From 2011 to 2012, Michel was Chairman of Global Partnerships. In this position, he concentrated on building and deepening long-term relationships with public sector stakeholders, governments and NGOs, with a specific concentration on emerging markets. Innovative insurance solutions and public private partnerships are vital to help society create effective responses to major risks, including natural catastrophes, climate change and food security as well as infrastructure, healthcare and longevity.

He left the board in 2011 when he became the Chairman of Global Partnerships which is largely viewed as an ambassadorial appointment that looked to distance him from future executive positions. So it came as a surprise to some when it was announced he would become the Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Re effective February 1, 2012.  His appointed was viewed as continuity to the programs set by his predecessor and also his strength in emerging markets where much growth is expected.

Michel is fluent in French, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish having worked in a number of countries in Europe and Latin America.

Swiss Re is a leading wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance and other insurance-based forms of risk transfer.  In 2013, premiums earned and fee income totaled $28.8 billion.

Thomas Enders: Airbus Group CEO

Dr. Thomas “Tom” Enders was born in December 1958, in Neuschlade, Germany.  Tom studied economics, political science, and history at the University of Bonn and at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He began his career as an assistant at the German Federal Parliament, and at a series of German and UK-based think tanks. Tom also serves as a Major in the Germany Army Reserve, and spent two years in the planning staff of the German defense ministry.

In 1991, Tom joined the marketing department of DiamlerChrysler Aerospace. He held a number of positions at DASA until he was promoted to head the defense and security systems business in the frame of the merger of EADS in 2000.  In 2005, Tom was appointed co-CEO until 2007 when the company modified its governance. As a result of the governance change, Tom was appointed CEO of Airbus, the largest division in the Group.  In June 1, 2012 he was appointed CEO of Airbus Group (formerly EADS).

Tom was the Chairman from 2005 to 2012 of BDLI, the German aerospace industry association. 

Yuchen Zhu: SPDBC Vice Chairman & President

Yuchen Zhu holds postgraduate degree and Doctor of Economics degree. Yuchen is a Senior Economist and Adjunct Professor at China Agricultural University. He previously served as Management Office Director of China Grain Trading Company. 

Yuchen is the Vice Chairman and President of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., Ltd (SPDB). While classified as a regional bank it is huge with 38,976 employees and revenue in excess of $30 billion. While huge in size it is relatively a young bank compared to others its size.

It gained approval of the People’s Bank of China in August 28, 1992 and was incorporated in January 9, 1993. It is a joint-stock commercial bank headquartered in Shanghai, China.  Shanghai Pudong Development Bank issued a 400 million A-share offer on September 23, 1993 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In doing so it became the first shareholding commercial bank to list with both Central Bank and China Securities Regulatory Commission’s approval since the enactment of “Commercial Bank Law” and “Securities Law”. Thus the registered capital reached RMB 2.41 billion. In November 10, 1999 320 million shares of the issue was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (stock code 600000).

SPDB was founded to provide financial services for the development of Pudong, building Shanghai into one of the great international financial hubs, and to contribute to the national economic development and social progress.

Thus Yuchen has a very important role to play not just for the bank’s growth and profitability but also in achieving the goals and purpose for which the bank was established.  Aside from his leadership role in SPDB Yuchen has been serving in other leadership positions such as being President of Shenzhen mid-Futures Brokerage Co., Chairman of Shanghai mid-Futures Brokerage Co., The President of China International Futures Brokerage Co., Ltd, party secretary and General Manager of Dilian Commodity Exchange, Vice Party Secretary and General Manager of China Financial Futures Exchange Corporation and other senior positions in various companies.

Yuchen also serves as Member of the 12^th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. 

Renjie Li: Industrial Bank President

Renjie Li was born in 1951 and holds a bachelor’s degree. He is a senior economist who got his start in the banking industry by working in the Fujian Branch of the People’s Bank of China (PB0C) in 1982. Li served as Direct Planning Division of Fujian Branch of PBOC.

He was Deputy Head of Bank and Head of Bank – Shenzhen Branch of Industrial Bank Co., Ltd and is the President and a Director. Li used to serve as Chairman of the Board of Great Wall Securities Co., Ltd and was also Executive Director and Deputy General Manager in Jiang Nan Finance Ltd.

Industrial Bank is one of the largest banks in the world. It engages in the provision of corporate and personal banking services, financial lease, assets custody service and conducting treasury business. Among its activities include accepting public deposits, granting short, medium, and long-term loans, performing settlement services, discounting bills and notes, issuing financial debentures, issuing, underwriting and other financial activities.

Industrial Bank was founded in August 22, 1988 and based in Fuzhou, China. 

Javier G. Gutierrez: Ecopetrol President

Javier Genaro Gutierrez Pemberthy was born in 1951 in Bogota, Columbia. He graduated from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota in 1975 and is a civil engineer. He also has a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the same university. In 1981 Javier took a course in Electric System Expansion Planning at the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, USA. He also took a specialization course in Finance at Universidad EAFIT in Medellin.

Javier began his career in 1975 working with the Interconexión Electrica S.A. E.S.P. –ISA- in the field of Electrical Planning with an emphasis on Hydraulic Resources and Expansion Models for the Planning of the Columbian Electric System.  He climbed the corporate ladder and served as General Manager from 1992 until January 2007. Javier then became the President of Ecopetrol S.A.

Among his major achievements since leading the company include its entry in the stock markets of Columbia and the U.S. Javier has also internationalized the company which now has operations in the U.S., Brazil and Peru.  The policies on Corporate Governance and human talent have been strengthened. There was also the creation of a corporate group that today has strong presence in exploration and production, refining, transportation, bio-fuels and the marketing of crude oil and refined products.

Javier has been recognized various times for his leadership achievements including receiving in 2002 the “Portafolio” award in the “Best Corporate Leader” category. América Economίa Magazine awarded him in 2005, with the “Excellence” award in the category of “Internationalization,” and in that same year the newspaper “La Repùblica” recognized him as one of the top ten executives of the year in Columbia.

Javier was a member of the Advisory Board for Corporación Calidad and the Advisory Board for Bolsa de Valores de Columbia (Columbian Stock Exchange) among others.

Ecopetrol formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos S.A. is the largest and primary petroleum company in Columbia. 

Ken Kobayashi: Mitsubishi President & CEO

Ken Kobayashi joined Mitsubishi Corporation in July 1971 in the Ship Sales Department in Tokyo. In July 1980 he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation London Branch.  Ken served starting on December 1985 at Ship & Rolling Stock Department of Mitsubishi Corporation in Tokyo. He became General Manager of Ship & Industrial Project Department in 1998 and later served as General Manager of Mitsubishi Singapore Branch starting April 2001.

Ken became Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Singapore Branch in April 2003.  He was appointed Senior Vice President, Division COO for the Plant Project Division on June 2004. Ken continued his rise through senior ranks and by April 2007 was Executive Vice President, Group CEO of the Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development Group.  In June of the same year he became Member of the Board of the Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development Group.

After more promotions Ken was finally appointed as Member of the Board, President, and CEO of Mitsubishi Corporation.

Mitsubishi Corporation has seven Business Groups which develops operations in the diverse field of Global Environmental & Infrastructure; Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development; Energy; Metals; Machinery; Chemicals; and Living Essentials. In addition to these Business Groups, MC has also recently established its Business Service Group. Through these business groups and more than 600 subsidiaries and affiliates, MC serves customers around the world in virtually every industry. 

Richard Davis: Leading U.S. Bancrop

Richard Davis was a child star who appeared in a production of Wizard of Oz. He career though would eventually be in the financial sector He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from California State University and completed Banking School Programs at the University of Washington and Cornell University.

He began his banking career as a teller when he was eighteen years old. Richard joined Star Banc Corporation in 1993 as Executive Vice President for Consumer Banking.  In 1998, he oversaw the merger of Star Banc Corporation with Firstar Corporation. The following year Richard oversaw the merger of Firstar with Mercantile Corporation. In 2001 he was integral in the merger of Firstar and U.S. Bancorp.

Richard was the Chief Operating Office of U.S. Bancorp from October 2004 to December 2006. He has been the President since October 2004 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in December 2006. Richard became Chairman of the board in 2007.

U.S. Bancorp has been known for its conservative approach. When Richard took the helm he took a more offensive approach solidifying the Minneapolis-based company’s presence in California, Chicago and other markets by engaging in deals to build out its branch networks. The bank launched a municipal underwriting group as part of its corporate banking expansion, attracted commercial banking talent and introduced products stemming from investments in mobile banking and remote deposit capture technology.

Richard has managed to take an offensive approach while maintaining a conservative credit culture and efficient operating model that U.S. Bancorp is known for. Since 2007 the bank has made acquisitions across consumer banking, wholesale banking, trust and payment businesses. It has upgraded its call centers, mortgage origination systems, Internet banking capabilities and branch hardware and software.

He previously served on the Board of Directors of Visa Inc. He serves as Chairman of the Finance Services Roundtable, as a Director of the Clearing House and American Bankers Association and is a member of the International Monetary Conference. 

Dr. Ling Wen: Shenhua Group CEO

In 1984 Dr. Ling Wen graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Science from the Shanghai Jiaotong University. He earned a Master’s degree in Systems Engineering in 1987 from the Harbin Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. degree in Management Engineering in 1991. He conducted research in macroeconomics as a post-doctoral fellow in the department of Automation of Shanghai Jiaotong University from 1992 to 1994.

While certainly an academic achiever, Dr. Ling goes beyond theory and has been equally successful in the world of business.  He is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Shenhua Group Corporation Limited. He serves as Chief Executive Officer of China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd (a publicly traded company), and has been its President since August 25, 2006. Dr. Ling has served in various positions at Shenhua Group prior to his eventual appointment as CEO.

He has been the Vice Chairman and Executive Director of China Shenhua Energy Co., Ltd., since June 27, 2014 and November 6, 2004 respectively.

China Shenhua is a world-leading coal-based integrated energy company. It is the largest coal supplier and vendor in China.

Peter Sands: Standard Chartered CEO

Peter Alexander Sands was born in the United Kingdom on January 8, 1962.  The life of Peter and his parents have been strongly influenced by what was once the British Empire. His parents, although British nationals, were both born in Asia; Peter’s father was born in Malaysia which was a British colony until 1957 and his mother was born in India which was also a former British colony.

While still a baby Peter was taken to Malaysia and spent the majority of his life away from the United Kingdom, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore. In 1984 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brasenose College at Oxford. Peter’s career began in the public sector as a trainee at Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He left to further his studies taking a Harkness Fellowship at Harvard University to earn a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government.

Peter then joined management consulting firm McKinsey in its London Office in 1988. He rose through the ranks and became a partner in 1996 and became a director in 2000.  Standard Chartered, a client of McKinsey, hired Peter as Group Finance Director in 2002. He was appointed four year later in 2006 as Group Chief Executive Officer.

Standard Chartered experienced strong growth partly under Peter’s leadership. The bank highlights the fact that more than 90 percent of its income and profit come from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This structure enabled it to perform much better than other banks during the economic downturn including having record profits in 2009. It is reported that Peter devised the British bank rescue plan which was copied around the world.  

Peter is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of International Finance, the global association of financial institutions, and chairman of their Special Committee on Effective Regulation. In 2009 he was appointed by the British government to the Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance.

Standard Chartered is one of the world’s most international banks with more than 1,600 branches, offices and outlets in 70 countries.

Douglas Oberhelman: Caterpillar CEO

Douglas Oberhelman was born on February 25, 1953 in the state of Illinois. His father was a John Deere salesman and Douglas was raised in Woodstock, Illinois. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Millikin University in 1975.

He is a career Caterpillar employee joining the company right after graduation in 1975 in the Caterpillar treasury department. Over the years he has worked in or led in a wide variety of business across the firm.  In 1995 he was named vice president and chief financial officer. He was elected a group president in 2002 and oversaw Caterpillar’s engine and power systems businesses. Douglas has worked and lived in North America, South America and Asia over the course of his career at Caterpillar.

Douglas became the CEO in July 1, 2010 and chairman on November 1, 2010.  Among others he is a member of the Board of Directors of Eli Lilly and Company, chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers and vice chairman of the Business Council.

Caterpillar recorded sales and revenue of $55.6 billion in 2013. It is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of construction and mining equipment. 

Dong Wenbiao: Chinese Financial Executive

Dong Wenbiao was born in Henan province in 1957. Dong is a senior economist and earned a master’s degree in economics from Xiamen University in 1993.  He was a former teacher at Henan Financial Institute. Dong then served as the manager of the Zhengzhou branch at the Construction Bank of China. The branch was called a “miracle” in the Chinese banking system, as a result of his leadership.

Dong was Chairman and President of Haitong Securities Co. Ltd., and then joined China Minsheng Banking Corporation (CMBC) in 1996 as Vice President. He was widely praised in the Chinese media for his work and was recognized for his adherence to international commercial rules. Dong was an executive director and President of CMBC from 2000 to 2006. He led the bank through its listing as the first non-public financial institution and the first joint stock non-public bank.

He became the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMBC in 2006. In August 2014, Dong made headlines in the financial press as he resigned from his post as Chairman of CMBC, one of China’s top private lenders and the country’s first majority privately owned bank. It was reported by Chinese media that he had set up a private investment company while holding his position at Minsheng.

After the resignation was announced it was also reported by media in August 2014 that he had launched China’s largest private investment fund. The private fund, China Minsheng Investment Co. Ltd has a registered capital of 50 billion yuan or $8.13 billion after raising funds from 59 domestic private enterprises.

Shareholders of the fund, which received State Council approval in April, are all large private firms and include Suning Commerce Group, one of China’s largest electronic appliance retailers, and Baota Petrochemical Group, a leading chemical manufacturer.  The fund will invest in photovoltaic power generation projects, steel and vessels, and will also engage in stock management and consultancy services.

There is no legal relationship between Minsheng Bank and the fund and it’s not clear why Minsheng Investment is using the Minsheng name. One thing is clear though Dong is a heavyweight in the Chinese financial world. 

Christian Clausen: Nordea CEO

Christian Clausen was born on March 6, 1955 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He holds a Master of Science in Economics from Copenhagen University.  Christian began his professional career in 1975 with a four year stint at United Credit Unions. It was also during this period when he earned his Master’s degree.

In 1979 he became the executive secretary at Henriques bank. Then from 1982 to 1987 Christian acted as a deputy at Andelsbanken. He then became the managing director at Privatborsen from 1988 to 1990 and was also managing director and chief executive at Unibors Securities from 1990 to 1996. Christian then held the position as CEO of Unibank until 2000 and acted as a member of the executive board in his final three years there.

In 2001 he left Unibank and became the executive vice president of Nordea Bank. He became the CEO in 2007. Christian has played a defining role in the expansion of the largest financial group in northern Europe. He has boosted the bank’s brand identity and has managed to keep the bank healthy while other banks in Europe experienced difficulties. 

Paal Kibsgaard: Schlumberger CEO

Paal Kibsgaard earned a petroleum engineering degree then went on complete a master’s degree from the Norwegian Institute of Technology. Paal started his career working for ExxonMobil in 1992. He began working for Schlumberger in 1997 as a reservoir engineer in Saudi Arabia.

At Schlumberger Paal held various field positions in technical sales and customer support including working as Wireline marketing manager Scandinavia. Next he was the GeoMarket manager for the Caspian region where he was based in Kazakhstan. Paal set up the structure of the Caspian Geomarket, preparing the area for oil and gas exploration and development activity.

He became president of Schlumberger Drilling and Measurements in February 2003 then became the vice president for personnel in April 2006. Paal was vice president for engineering, manufacturing and sustaining before he became the group president for reservoir characterization in May 2009. The following year in February 2010 he moved further up the corporate ladder as chief operating officer. His role as chief operating officer came to an end on August 2011 when he was named CEO of Schlumberger Limited.

Schlumberger is an oil field services company which provides technology, project management and information solutions for the oil and gas industry. Schlumberger’s stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, on the Euronext Paris, Euronext Amsterdam, London and the SIX Swiss stock exchanges.  For 2013 revenue from continuing operations reached $45.27 billion.

The firm employs around 126,000 people in over 85 countries representing more than 140 nationalities. It operates through two business segments: Schlumberger supplies a wide range of products and services from formation evaluation through directional drilling, well cementing, and stimulation, well completion and productivity to consulting, software, information management and IT infrastructure service the support core industry operational processes.

WesternGeco is the world’s largest seismic company and provides advanced acquisition and data processing services.

Founded in 1927 Paal leads a company which helps the world produce the energy it needs of which searching for new sources of supply is becoming more challenging making Schlumberger even more relevant.

Dr. Johannes Teyssen: CEO E.ON

Dr. Johannes Teyssen was born on October 9, 1959 in Hildesheim, Germany.  He earned a degree in economics and law from Universität of Göttingen studying there from 1979 to 1984. He went to Boston University in Massachusetts, USA on doctorial studies scholarship in 1984.  Dr. Teyssen obtained a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Göttingen in 1991.

He started his career at PreussentElekra AG in 1989 in Hanover, Germany.  Dr. Teyssen then moved to HASTRA AG from 1998 to 1999. He then became a Member of the Board of Management at AVACON AG in Helmstedt, Germany.  Dr. Teyssen joined E.ON Energie AG in 2001 in Munich, first as a Member of the Board of Management and from 2003-2007 as Chairman of the Board of Management.  From 2004 to 2008 he was a Member of the Board of Management of E.ON SE in Dusseldorf and eventually became the Chairman and CEO of E.ON SE on May 2010.

The company Dr. Teyssen leads is a major investor-owned energy supplier. It has over 62,000 employees throughout Russia, Europe, and North American and had €122.5 billion in sales in 2013.

Brady Dougan: Credit Suisse CEO

Brady Dougan was born on August 30, 1959 in Urbana, Illinois. Brady grew up in Murphysboro, a city of 8,000 in rural Illinois more known for producing coal than top level executives. Like many top executives education helps get one up the ladder. He earned a B.A. in Economics in 1981 from the University of Chicago. Brady went on to earn an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1982.

Brady went to work for Bankers Trust, the pioneering finance house that also launched the careers of other high-flying bankers. He then joined Credit Suisse’s American investment bank, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) in 1990 and rapidly rose through the ranks. 

In 2005 CSFB and Credit Suisse’s businesses merged and Brady became head of the new bank’s investment banking division. He worked closely with then CEO Oswald Grübel to try and blend Credit Suisse’s Swiss and American units into one bank. Oswald retired in 2007 and Brady took his place.

In the process Brady became the first American CEO of the Swiss bank. He is known for his attention to detail, a sharp mind, and a ferocious work ethic. He has a punishing work routine starting work early and working for 18 hours a day. These traits landed him the top post. He follows up on those that have given personal deadlines to see if the tasks were completed.

When he arrived as the new CEO it was reported that the expensive cars at the headquarter parking lot kind of disappeared as his preferred vehicle is a Toyota Prius.

When the market was booming he warned that there may be negative days ahead although the magnitude was much harder. Brady is credited with leading the bank away from the subprime meltdown that UBS suffered. He moved quickly than other Swiss bank rivals to lower the bank’s risk profile.

Brady is known to shun parties that other members of Wall Street like to attend. He is known to be more of the private type and is an avid runner.

Paul Polman: Unilever CEO

Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman was born on July 11, 1956 in Enschede, Netherlands. He earned a BBA/BA in 1977 from the University of Groningen.  At the University of Cincinnati he obtained an MA in Economics and an MBA in Finance and International Marketing (both) in 1979.

At one point Paul wanted to become a priest then decided to join the business world. He was working nights for Procter & Gamble (P&G) then joined its finance department in 1979.  He began as a Cost Analyst and worked for the company for 27 years. His last promotion was as Group President Europe in 2001.

Paul then joined Nestle in 2006 as Chief Financial Officer and Head of the Americas. Then on January 1, 2009 he became CEO of Unilever. Paul is credited with turning around the company’s fortune. Since joining in 2009 Paul has overseen the company’s share prices increase by around 50 percent. As head of the world’s third-largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company he has strongly pushed the sustainability agenda. 

Li Fanrong: CNOOC CEO

Li Fanrong has been the CEO China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) since November 2011 and was appointed as President in September 2010. Li was born in 1963 and is a senior engineer. He earned a B.S. degree majoring in oil production from Jiang Han Petroleum Institute in China in 1984.  Li also earned an MBA degree from the Business School of Cardiff University in the United Kingdom July 2003.

Li has more than 27 years of experience in the oil and gas industry in China. He joined the company that he would one day lead in 1984. Li was a Petroleum Engineer in Nanhai East Oil Corporation of CNOOC from 1984 to 1989.  He then worked as Offshore Platform Supervisor in Huizhou Oil Field for ACT (AGIP-Chevron-Texaco) Operators Group, later at Production Manager in Liuhua Oil Field Joint Operation Group with Amoco Orient Company, and Assistant to President of CNOOC China Limited Shenzhen Branch and Managing Director of Lufeng 22-1 Oil Field Joint Operating Group with Statoil (Orient) Inc. from 1989 to 2001.  

Li then worked as Vice President of CNOOC China Limited Shenzhen Branch and Chief Representative of Joint Management Committee of CACT (CNOOC-AGIP-Chevron-Texaco) Operators Group from January 2002 to November 2005. He next worked as General Manager of Development and Production Department of the Company from November 2005 to February 2007.

Li continued his climb up the corporate ladder and was President of CNOOC China Limited Shenzhen Branch from February 2007 to January 2009. He became Assistant Vice President of CNOOC on January 2009 until April 2010.  Li served in various capacities until his promotion to CEO on November 2011.

CNOOC is listed on both the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It is the largest offshore oil and gas producer in China. The firm is a state owned company operating directly under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. 

Brian Krzanich: Intel CEO

Brian Krzanich was born on May 9, 1960 in Santa Clara County, California. Of Croatian heritage, Brian obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from San Jose State University. He also holds a patent for semiconductor processing. Brian’s career has not taken him to faraway foreign lands. In fact he has been connected all his life with one company based in the state where he was born. Yet if you get to work for computer chip powerhouse Intel, there’s really no need to be moving far from California anyways, especially if one day you get promoted to the top post.

Brian joined Intel in 1982 in New Mexico as an engineer. Since then he has held a number of senior leadership roles within the manufacturing organization of Intel. Brian has been noted for his open-minded approach to problem solving and listening to customer’s needs which has extended the company’s product and technology leadership and created billions of dollars in value for the company.

He led a broad transformation in 2006 of Intel’s factories and supply chain, improving factory velocity by more than 60 percent and doubling customer responsiveness. He was eventually promoted to COO in January 2012.  Brian finally got the top post when he was promoted to CEO of Intel Corporation and elected a member of the board of directors on May 16 2013. 

Kurt Bock: BASF CEO

Kurt Bock is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. He was born in 1958 in Rahden, Eastern Westphalia, Germany. This is a small town with a population of 16,000 and where Kurt also grew up. Starting in 1977 he studied business administration at the Universities of Münster and Cologne and also at Pennsylvania State University in the United States. Kurt received his diploma from the University of Cologne in 1982. He then completed a three-year research stint at Bonn University and received a doctorate in economics in 1985 for the said university.

  

He joined BASF through the Finance Division in 1985 and became Staff to Chief Financial Officer in 1987. Kurt was promoted in 1991 to Head of Technology, Planning and Controlling in the Engineering Plastics Division.

Kurt made a major decision and left BASF in 1992 to become Senior Vice President of Finance at Robert Bosch GmbH. He also did well there becoming Managing Director at Robert Bosch Ltda., Campinas, Brazil. BASF though was able to get him back in 1998 as Chief Financial Officer of its North American division. Kurt became the President of BASF’s Logistics and Information Services in 2000.

In 2003 he became a member of the Board of Executive Directors and the firm’s Chief Financial Officer and also 2007 onwards Chairman and CEO of BASF Corporation, New Jersey, United States.

In 2011 Kurt became the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE. He is responsible for Legal, Taxes & Insurance, Strategic Planning & Controlling, Communications & Government Relations, Global Executive Human Resources, Investor Relations and Compliance.

BASF is a chemical company and it is interesting to note that Kurt does not have a chemical or science background and his strength is in finance. Yet at BASF only 50 percent of board members are required to have chemistry credentials. They probably realized that having all managers and senior executives with chemistry backgrounds may make the company too narrowly focused.

Kurt has proven himself to be a capable CEO producing profits for BASF, one of the world’s leading chemicals companies, when analysts had other opinions. 

Steven Kandarian: MetLife CEO & Chairman

Steven Kandarian was raised in West Hartford, Connecticut; his parents Lillian and Albert Kandarian came from Armenia.  Steven received his B.A. from Clark University. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and obtained his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

He began his career as an investment banker with Rotan Mosle, Inc., a company based in Houston, Texas. Steven became a managing director at Lee Capital Holdings and later founded and was managing partner of Orion Partners, LP, a private equity firm headquartered in the Boston area.

He  was executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) from 2001 to 2004 and helped lay the groundwork for the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Steven joined insurance company MetLife in April 2005 as executive vice president and chief investment officer (CIO).  He has also overseen since 2007, the company’s enterprise-wide strategy, which identified key areas of focus for the company. He played a major role in MetLife’s reduction of exposure to sub-prime mortgaged-backed securities keeping the company in sound financial footing after the crisis.

Steven was appointed CEO of MetLife in May 1, 2011 and chairman on January 1, 2012.  MetLife generated $68.2 billion in revenue in 2013. 

Yang Mingsheng: China Life Chairman

Yang Mingsheng is a Chinese national who was born in 1955. He is a Senior Economist who graduated from the Faculty of Financing of Nankai University majoring in Monetary Banking with a Master’s degree in Economics.

From 1980 to 2007 Yang worked at the Agricultural Bank of China. He held a number of positions in that institution including Vice President of Shenyang Branch, Head of Industrial Credit Department and President of Tianjin Branch. In 1997 Yang was named Vice President of the Agricultural Bank of China and in 2003 became President.

His long years of experience in the financial industry include being the Vice Chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission from 2007 to 2012.

In March 2012 Yang became the Chairman of China Life Insurance (Group) Company. He also became the Chairman of China Life Property and Casualty Insurance Company Limited in March 2012. Yang became Chairman, Executive Director of China Life in May 2012.  Other positions added are as Chairman of China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited in January 2013, and the Chairman of China Life Asset Management Company Limited in 2013.

Yang leads a huge company, China Life is the largest insurance firm in China headquartered in Beijing. The firm traces its beginning in 1949. It was floated on the New York Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 17 and 18, 2003 respectively and was the world’s largest IPO of that year.  It became the first Chinese insurance company to be listed in three markets when it was successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on January 9, 2007.

Just to give a better picture of the size of the company Yang heads, it has more than 653,000 exclusive agents in China with 88,000 bancassurance outlets and 54,000 account managers and financial advisors. It also has 17,000 direct sales representatives in China and around 177 million long-term individual and group life insurance, annuity contracts and long-term health insurance policies in force.

China Life with estimated total assets of $326 billion is now making more investments aboard in search of bigger profits. 

César Alierta Izuel: Telefónica CEO

César Alierta Izuel was born on May 5, 1945 in Zaragoza, Spain.   In 1967, César received a Bachelor’s Degree in Law at the Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain).  Three years later after earning his degree, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Columbia University in New York, USA.

In 1970 César began working at Banco Urquijo as a Financial Analyst. Later he became General Manager of the Capital Markets at Banco Urquijo in Madrid. In 1985 César founded Beta Capital and served as President and Chairman.  From 1996 to 1999 he was the CEO of Tabacalera, the tobacco company.

In July 2000, César became the Executive Chairman and CEO of Telefónica. He has been an effective CEO and in September 2005 received the Global Spanish Entrepreneur award in New York by the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce. This distinction is an acknowledgement of his job as president of Telefónica, leading the firm to entry into the Dow Jones Global Titan 50 index. Telefónica is the first Spanish company and one of the very few in Europe to be part of this index, made of the world’s 50 most successful, global and largest companies. 

Carlos Brito: AB Inbev CEO

Carlos Alves de Brito was born in 1960 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He worked for Shell Oil and Daimler Benz.

Carlos was working for Shell Oil and had been accepted to Stanford Business School but couldn’t afford it. This was in 1987 and through a friend of a friend met Jorge Paulo Lemann who along with partners at Brazilian investment bank Banco Garantia ran a scholarship program for promising young people in their early careers.  Carlos got the scholarship.

After earning an MBA degree at Stanford, Carlos joined Brahma in 1989. This was a Rio de Janeiro-based brewer Lemann and his friends just bought. Carlos worked under Marcel Telles, a partner of Lemann and learned the art of cost cutting. Carlos would later be known for being extremely accomplished as a cost cutting executive who also had a knack for solving problems.

He rose through the ranks at Brahma. The firm merged with Sao Paulo-based competitor Antarctica in 1999 to for Cia de Bebidas das Americas, or Ambev. Carlos was appointed CEO of Ambev in 2004. Just a few months later Ambev announced a merger with Belgian beer giant Interbrew which had brands like Stella Artois and Beck’s.  Interbrew, the third-largest brewery, bought Ambev, the fifth-largest, for $11.5 billion to form InBev which instantly became the No. 1 beermaker in the world.

Carlos became zone president of North America and moved to Toronto.  He became CEO of Inbev at the end of 2005 at only 45 years of age. In 2008 Anheuser-Bush (AB) was successfully taken over forming AB Inbev. Later 1,400 employees lost their jobs. Carlos also promoted bright stars from lower ranks at AB. He was able to shave-off $2.25 billion in expenses.

Carlos and his team are fond of numbers measuring employee performance and promotion is always based on merit, laggards don’t stay long in the company. Some like his management approach others don’t but one thing for sure it has helped AB Inbev continue to grow and profit.

Luiz Trabuco Cappi: Banco Bradesco CEO

Born on October 6, 1951, Luiz Carlos Trabuco Cappi began working when he was 12 years old at a textile factory before joining a small department store in Marilla, a coffee-producing town around 250 miles west of Sao Paulo. He spent his early years running errands to Banco Bradesco, the second-largest non-government bank in Brazil.  Perhaps even then he already harbored thoughts of running the bank one day.

Luiz graduated from Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras de Sao Paulo, with a graduate degree in Social Psychology at Fundacao Escola de Sociologia e Politica de Sao Paulo. In April 1969, he finally began his career at Bradesco where he once ran errands to as a young boy.  He has held a number of positions with the banking sector. Luiz has held the position of Chief Financial Officer, heading Bradesco Insurance where he excelled and ultimately responsible for the listing of Bradesco at Level 2 in the New York Stock Exchange.

On October 10, 2009 Luiz became the Chief Executive Officer of Banco Bradesco.

Hiroo Unoura: NTT President & CEO

Hiroo Unoura was born on January 13, 1949.  He obtained a B.A. in Law from the University of Tokyo in 1973. Hiroo joined Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT)  also in 1973. He has held various posts in different aspects of the company including traffic operation management, sales promotion, and human resource management including labor relations, and corporate strategy planning and implementation.

In 2002 Hiroo became Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy Department as well as becoming Member of the Board. In 2008 he was appointed Senior Vice President, Head of New Business Promotion Office and President of NTT Investment Partners.

Hiroo was a significant player in planning and promoting NTT Group’s Medium-Term Management Strategy, focusing on FTTH and mobile broadband service development and NGN (Next Generation Network) vision released in 2004, accelerating transformation from traditional network career business to global-IP-based solution company as a “Service Creation Business Group” released in 2008, and executing acquisitions of Dimension Data plc. in 2010 and Centerstance Inc., in 2012.

Hiroo was promoted to President and CEO in June 2012. He has been taking the initiative in developing a new vision, “Towards the Next Stage” released in 2012, introducing a concept of a “Value Partner” for supporting customers’ transformation through offering global cloud services.

NTT is one of the largest companies in the world but just like any company it has it vulnerabilities. This comes primarily from the domestic front due to the fact that the Japanese telecommunications market is fast approaching the point of complete saturation. Thus NTT will be stuck in a market which will eventually have no growth. It had to rethink its approach in order to survive and prosper.

It is not the only Japanese company that has realized this and competitors like Softbank have already acquired a major U.S. mobile phone carrier, eAccess and also announced plans to take over Sprint Nextel by purchasing a 70 percent stake.

Given the huge resource at Hiroo’s disposal he can make many things happen and hopefully they are the right ones.  

Joe Kaeser: Siemens CEO

Joe Kaeser was born on June 23, 1957 in Arnbruck, Germany. Joe earned a degree in business administration from the Regensburg University of Applied Sciences. He then began his professional career joining the Components Group of Siemens in 1980.

Joe rose through the ranks of Siemens holding various management positions. Among them was a term at the Siemens Components Operations in Malacca, Malaysia from 1987 to 1988. He was named Vice President of business administration of the Opto Semiconductors Division in 1990.  Joe was promoted in 1994 to Executive Vice President and Chief Finance Officer aND later as CEO of the Group’s American subsidiary Siemens Components, based in Cupertino, California and also at Siemens Microelectronics, in nearby San Jose.

More promotions followed including the role of Chief Strategy Officer. Joe was eventually appointed as CEO of Siemens AG on August 1, 2013.

Siemens is a dominant global player in the industries it does businesses in. The firm groups its businesses in four sectors. These are: The Energy Sector, The Healthcare Sector, The Industry Sector, and the Infrastructure and Cities Sector. 

Henri Proglio: EDF CEO

Of Italian origin, Henri Proglio was born on June 29, 1949 in Antibes, France. He graduated from HEC Paris.

There are individuals who possess the character, skill and drive to become leaders and Henri fits in this category. He began working for Compagnie Générale de Eaux in 1972.  Henri reached the top position in the firm in a little less than twenty years becoming Chairman and CEO in 1990. Almost a decade later in 1999 he was named Vice-President of Vivendi Universal and Chairman and CEO of Vivendi Water. Henri became Chairman of Violia Environnement in 2000 and was also appointed CEO three years later.

In November 2009 Henri was named Chairman and CEO OF Electricité de France (EDF). EDF is one of the largest companies in the world. Running it has its challenges. To be efficient and profitable it has to be run like a private company but EDF is basically a state-owned utility company with the French government owning 84 percent of it. It is the French president who appoints the head of EDF from a short list of candidates.

EDF is also the world’s biggest operator of nuclear plants. Henri has performed very well. Although he was appointed by a conservative government, the current government of French President Francois Hollande kept him in place. Henri has had a good working relationship with the socialist government which has allowed EDF to increase its tariffs by 5 percent last year.

During Europe’s energy crisis of recent years, other European utilities suffered while EDF stocks have broadly outperformed the sector. Henri has also cut debt, pulled EDF out of its struggling North American nuclear business and ended legal dispute with water group Veolia over their energy services joint venture Dalkia. With his five year term ending in November 2014 there are even talks that the current government may extend his term.

Outside of EDF Henri is a non-executive director of CNP Assurances, Dassualt Aviation and Natixis. He was decorated Commander of the National Order of Merit of the Legion of Honour. 

Roberto Egydio Setubal: Itaù Unibanco Holding CEO

Roberto Egydio Setubal earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Production Engineering from Escola Politécnica Da Universidade De São Paulo in 1977. He went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Engineering from Stanford University.

Roberto has had a distinguished career in the banking industry. Among various positions he has held at Utaù Unibanco include being general manager from 1990 to 1994. Roberto has served as executive vice president of Itausa since May 1994 and has served as director since April 1995 and president and chief executive officer since April 1994.  He has been vice chairman of the board of directors since March 2003.

Outside of the bank he was the president of the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Federacao Brasileira de Bancos – FEBRABAN) and of the National Federation of Banks (Federacao Nacional de Bancos or FENABAN) from April 1997 to March 2001. Among others Roberto serves on the international advisory committee of the New York Stock Exchange.

Itaù Unibanco Holding is one of the largest companies in the world. Founded in 1944 and based in Brazil it has sales of $67.16 billion with 95,696 employees. 

Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon: Samsung Electronics CEO

Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Seoul National University. He went on to earn an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) and went further to obtain a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.  There is no question about Dr. Kwon’s academic achievements but he has gone beyond theory and parlayed the knowledge he learned and applied them at Samsung Electronics greatly contributing to its success as a global electronics powerhouse.

In 1985 Dr. Kwon joined Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor Business. In 1992 he successfully led the development of the industry’s first 64Mb DRAM. Dr. Kwon was appointed Vice President of Samsung’s Memory Device Technology unit three year later. Another promotion came in 1998 when he was appointed Senior Vice President and head of System LSI Division’s ASIC business.

In 2000 Dr. Kwon was appointed Executive Vice President and head of LSI Technology. He was promoted to President and General Manager of the System LSI Division in 2004. Dr. Kwon had a high successful stint at the System LSI Division. During his 10 years there the division gained top market shares of display driver ICs, application processors and CMOS image sensors.

With his outstanding performance Dr. Kwon was promoted to President of the Semiconductor Business (now Device Solutions) in May of 2008. This was the time when the memory chip industry was struggling to recover from one of its worst downturns. By the following year he was confident enough to say that the semiconductor business would recover with rising demand and limited supply.

Dr. Kwon was promoted to Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics in December 2011 and was appointed CEO six months later.

His promotions have come with challenges and this was no exception as it was also the period when Samsung Electronics was involved in a series of disagreements with Apple over supposedly copied designs. His rise and leadership at Samsung Electronics is also associated with the creation of the Samsung Galaxy phones that has established the firm as one of the global leaders in smartphones.

Alexey Miller: Gazprom CEO

Alexey Borisovich Miller was born on January 31, 1962 in Leningrad (now Saint. Petersburg), Russia to a family of German ethnicity.  In 1989 he earned a PhD in Economics from the N.A. Voznesenkii Leningrad Finance and Economics Institute.

After graduating, Alexey began his professional career as an engineer-economist at the general planning division of the Leningrad Civil Construction Research and Design Institute (LenNIIproekt under the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council).

Alexey served with the Committee for External Relations of the Saint Petersburg Mayor’s Office under Vladimir Putin from 1991 to 1996.  He was Director for Development and Investments of the Port of Saint Petersburg from 1996 to 1999. Alexey then served as Director General of the Baltic Pipeline System from 1999 to 2000. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation in 2000.

Alexey became the Chairman of the Management Committee (CEO) of Gazprom in 2001.

Gazprom is Russia’s largest company and the biggest gas producer in the world accounting for around 13 percent of the world’s gas production. 

Robert Dudley: BP CEO

Robert “Bob” Dudley was born on September 14, 1955 in Queens, New York City. Bob grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In 1973 he graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in suburban Chicago. Bob earned a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois. He proceeded to earn a Master of International Management degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

In 1979 Bob joined Amoco. He worked in a number of positions including negotiating deals in the South China Sea. In what would be a defining development in his career Amoco had him work in Moscow from 1994 to 1997. Bob became a general manager for strategy for Amoco in 1997. In 1999 after the merger between BP and Amoco he was appointed to a similar role in BP.

Bob was executive assistant to the group chief executive between 1999 and 2000 after which he became group vice president for BP’s renewable and alternative energy activities. Bob became group vice president in 2002 responsible for BP’s upstream business in Russia, the Caspian region, Angola, Algeria and Egypt.

His exposure to Russia certainly played a big role in his becoming the president and chief executive of TNK-BP from 2003 to 2008. This was a joint venture between BP and a group of Russian billionaires known as AAR. Bob later had a falling out with AAR who accused him of favoring BP.  It reached a point where he had to leave Russia in haste because his visa was not renewed. After much difficulty in trying to run the business from outside Russia he resigned in December 2008.

Bob returned to BP in 2009 and was appointed to the BP board and responsible for the group’s activities in the Americas and Asia. He took on a crucial and sensitive job serving as president and executive officer between June 23 and September 2010 of BP’s Gulf Restoration Organization in the US after the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

This stint was short-lived as Bob took on a bigger role of becoming BP’s Group Chief Executive on October 10, 2010.

Michael Corbat: Citigroup CEO

Michael Corbat was born on May 2, 1960 in Bristol, Connecticut, USA. He earned a B.A. in economics from Harvard University. Michael was also interested in sports and played offensive guard for the school’s football team. He was two time all Ivy League and was selected as first string College Football All-American Team in NCCA Division I-AA in 1982. Michael was good enough to be drafted professionally but passed up the chance to work in Wall Street.

He began working at Solomon Brothers and didn’t leave when it was acquired by Citi.  At the end of the day company ownership did not affect his rise to the top post. Among the roles he assumed was as Head of Citi’s Global Corporate Bank and Global Commercial Bank and CEO of Citi’s Global Wealth Management.

Michael was also CEO of Citi Holdings and was responsible for and led the divestiture of a portfolio of non-core business and assets following the financial crisis of 2008 and Citi’s participation in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. He was named CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in 2011. Michael became CEO of Citi in October 2012.

Citi is one of the largest banks in the world with around 200 million customer accounts and activities in over 160 countries and jurisdictions.

  

Ben van Beurden: Royal Dutch Shell CEO

Ben van Beurden was born on April 23, 1958 in the Netherlands. After graduating with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands he joined Royal Dutch Shell.

Ben is considered a “lifer” at Shell having stayed with the company throughout his career. This has given Ben the advantage of knowing the company inside out. His career at Shell exposed him to both Upstream and Downstream activities He began working in the Netherlands and at the Port Sudan Refinery in Sudan. He has been based in Africa, Malaysia, the U.S. and the U.K. Ben has held a number of operational and commercial position and a variety of positions in the Downstream.

He was appointed Vice President, Manufacturing and Excellence, based in Houston, Texas in 2005. In this role Ben was responsible for standards and operational excellence and high-performance initiatives in refining and chemicals manufacturing.

In December 2006, Ben became Executive Vice President, Chemicals, based in London, UK. He is credited with turning around Shell’s struggling chemicals division. From a loss making enterprise in 2008, the Chemicals business now contributes 5 percent of net earnings. Ben also worked for 10 years in Shell’s liquefied natural gas business, which has become a crucial driver of the group’s growth.

He was Downstream Director and had responsibility for Europe and Turkey from January to September 2013. Ben has been a member of the Executive Committee since January 2013. He became Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2014.

His promotion came as a surprise as there were others higher in rank and listed as front runners. His name was not on the list. Ben is not that well known as other Shell executive outside of the company. Top management though chose someone with solid company experience and proven track record.

Royal Dutch Shell is one of the largest companies in the world generating revenue of $451.2 billion in 2013.

Zhou Jiping: PetroChina Company Chairman

Zhou Jiping was born in 1952 and of Han nationality. He earned a degree in Geology from the China University of Petroleum and holds a master’s degree in Marine Geologic Structure from the Nanhai Marine Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  Zhou is a professor-level senior engineer with almost 40 years of working experience in China’s petrochemical industry.  

He was the Manager of the development department of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Manager of the overseas department of the International Cooperation Bureau of the China National Petroleum Company, President of the China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation in Vanuatu, and President of the China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation in Papua New Guinea.

Zhou was appointed a Director of PetroChina in May 2004 and the Vice Chairman and President of the Company in May 2008. He was appointed President of CNPC in November 2011. Zhou was formally appointed as the Chairman and President of PetroChina and Chairman of CNPC in April 2013.

PetroChina is the largest oil and gas producer and distributor in China as well as one of the largest companies in the world in terms of revenue. CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) is the sole sponsor and controlling shareholder of PetroChina.

Siqing Chen: Bank of China President

Siqing Chen earned a college degree in 1982 from Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics. A Certified Public Accountant Chen also received an MBA from Murdoch University, Australia in 1999.  He joined the Bank of China in 1990.

During the period June 2000 to May 2008 Chen held various positions in the Bank such as Assistant General Manager, Vice General Manager of the Fujian Branch, General Manager of the Risk Management Department of Head Office and General Manager of the Guangdong Branch.

Prior to that Chen worked in the Hunan branch of the Bank before he was seconded to the Hong Kong Branch of China and South Sea Bank Ltd. as Assistant General Manager.

From June 2008 to January 2014 Chen has served as Executive Vice President of the Bank.  In February 2014 he was promoted to the top management post as President of Bank of China and was appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in April 2014.

Since December 2011 he has been serving as Non-Executive Director of BOCHK (Holdings) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BOC Aviation.

Other positions held by Chen include serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Culture Industrial Investment Fund Co., Ltd., Vice Chairman of China Chamber of International Commerce and Director of Trade and Finance Committee of China Banking Association.

The bank that Chen leads has played a significant role in China’s history. It was established in February 1912 following the approval of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The period 1912 to 1949 saw the Bank serve consecutively as the country’s central bank, international exchange bank and specialized international trade bank. The Bank was made into a wholly state-owned commercial bank in 1994. 

The Bank of China Limited was incorporated in August 2004. The Bank was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange in June and July 2006 respectively.  As the most international and diversified bank, Bank of China provides a full range of financial services to customers throughout the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and 37 countries. 

Nikolaus von Bombard: Munich Re CEO

Nikolaus von Bombard was born in 1956 in Gunzenhausen, Germany. He studied law at the universities of Munich and Regenburg, finishing with a doctorate degree.

Nikolaus then began his climb up the corporate ladder at Munich Re starting out in the graduate trainee program in 1985. Later he started working as an underwriter in the Operational Division: Fire/Treaty. Nikolaus was appointed Deputy Head of the Operational Division: Germany. 

In 1997 he took on the job of building up and managing the Munich Re office in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He was appointed to the Board of Management in 2000 and from 2001 was responsible for the Europe 2/Latin America Division. On January 2004 Nikolaus reached the top post being appointed Chairman of the Board of Management.

He has help guide of the one of the world’s largest reinsurer through difficult times and has pursued initiatives to help combat global warming.  One project that his has been involved with is in Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII), a desert power scheme, which aims to produce enough electricity to meet 15 percent of the world’s energy requirements.