Bernard Pottier, Chairman of the Board of Aviva France, will be leaving his post on 30 April in accordance with the rule within the group at international level that sets a maximum age of 60 for top managers.
Bernard Pottier, Chairman of the Board of Aviva France, will be leaving his post on 30 April in accordance with the rule within the group at international level that sets a maximum age of 60 for top managers.
Bruno Rostain has been appointed by the Supervisory Board of Aviva France to succeed him as Chairman of the Board of Aviva France as from that date.
Etienne Silhol, head of the Casualty and Property business area and General Manager of Aviva Assurances, will continue to run commercial operations with the General Agents and the company teams to enable Aviva Assurances and its network to take on tomorrow’s challenges.
Philippe Sorret has been appointed to the Board. He will replace Bruno Rostain as head of the group’s Life business area and as General Manager of Aviva Vie.
In addition, Jean-Claude Demerson, a member of the Board, who managed Abeille Insurance from 1989 to 2001, will be leaving the board at the same time as Bernard Pottier but will remain Chairman of La Paix.
As from 1 May, the Board of Aviva France will be made up of Bruno Rostain, Chairman, Etienne Silhol and Philippe Sorret, respectively responsible for the Casualty and Property and Life business areas and Martin Bride, Finance Director.
Biographies
Bernard Pottier,aged 60 - Polytechnique – graduate fellow of the French Institute of Actuaries, has spent the whole of his profession career in insurance – initially (1967 – 1988) with the Assurances du Groupe de Paris (AGP) companies where he became Executive Chairman in 1986 and then, from 1988, with the Commercial Union group (after 1 July 2002 the Aviva group) which took control of the Victoire group in 1994. He was Chairman of the Board of Aviva France and Chairman of its main subsidiaries, Aviva Assurances and Aviva Vie.
Bernard Pottier has held various posts with professional associations in the insurance field - President of the Association Générale des Sociétés d'Assurances contre les Accidents (from 1982 to 1985) and of Réunion Vie (from 1987 to 1989). He also presided over the Life Commission of the European Federation of National Insurance Associations from 1993 to 1997.
Bruno Rostain, aged 46 - Arts et Métiers - Polytechnique – chief engineer of the French Mining and Geological Service – began his career in administration (1985-1988) then in the private office of the Minister of Foreign Trade (1989-1991). He joined the Victoire Group in 1991 as head of the Chairman’s private office and then occupied various posts within Abeille Insurance. After the Victoire group was acquired by the Commercial Union group he became general manager of Commercial Union Assurances until 1998 before rejoining Abeille Life in June 1999. Having been General Manager of CGU Courtage (formerly Commercial Union Assurances), Bruno Rostain was then seconded to the CGU group’s life subsidiary in the United States, becoming a member of the board of CGU France in 1998. He continued his career as administrative general manager of Abeille Life in June 1999, succeeded Philippe Tizzoni as head of Abeille Life in July 2000 and became head of the group’s Life business area in October 2001.
Etienne Silhol – aged 47 - Polytechnique - IEP Paris – began his career in the Insurance Inspectorate. In 1984 he joined Assurances du Groupe de Paris (AGP, Groupe Compagnie du Midi then Axa) to manage the motor branch and then carried out the duties of Management and Organisational Audit Director until 1989. He then went to Commercial Union and set up Eurofil, the direct sales and mass market insurance telemarketing subsidiary of which he is the general manager. In 1996 he was also appointed Commercial Union’s Director of Information Systems. In 1998 he became a member of the board of CGU France, a product of the merger of Commercial Union and General Accident. Next he was seconded to London and CGU Canada, the market leader in Casualty and Property insurance in that country. Here he occupied the post of Executive Vice-President responsible for Losses, Actuarial Methods, and Reinsurance before being appointed head of the Casualty and Property business area of CGU France in October 2001. This includes Abeille Insurance and its subsidiaries, Amis and La Paix, together with Eurofil. He was also appointed General Manager of Abeille Insurance at the same time.
Philippe Sorret – aged 41 - Polytechnique – National Higher School for Advanced Technology (ENSTA) Engineer - Actuary - Philippe Sorret joined Abeille Insurance in 1985 and then successively occupied the posts of IT Project Manager and, until 1991, Head of Financial Planning and Brokerage. He was then appointed Assistant Manager of the Health Department from 1991 to 1993 followed by 2 years in charge of commercial promotion for Abeille’s network of General Agents.
Continuing his professional career with CGU France, he took up the post of Insurance Operations Manager at Eurofil from 1995 to 1999 before, in 1999, becoming General Manager of the joint market leader in France, a post that he occupied until 2002. In July of the same year he joined the Group’s Life business area as Director of Commercial Marketing, Organisation and Management Resources.
Jean-Claude Demerson – aged 58 - Polytechnique – National School of Statistics and Financial Administration (ENSAE) – began his career in 1970 with the Drouot group (AXA) where he occupied various technical posts at group level then with the Business, Casualty and Property and Agents department until 1981. In 1987 he became Assistant General Manager in charge of corporate risks and commercial management and was then appointed Head of Technology and Marketing of AXA Assurances in 1988. In 1989 he joined Abeille Insurance as Assistant General Manager. Appointed as General Manager in 1991 and then as Executive Vice-Chairman in 1998, he heads up France’s 4th largest network of general agents. He has been a member of the board of CGU France since 1998.
Martin Bride – aged 39 – Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries London, INSEAD MBA, started with Commercial Union in London in 1988 in Corporate Finance (Casualty and Property Actuarial Methods). He continued his career with Commercial Union in the London Market operation (1994-1998), of which he was Finance Director. He has since been head of the West End branch in London (1998-1999), then managed customer services for the international brokerage operation and, more recently, the CGNU Siliconwharf electronic trading subsidiary. He has been Finance Director of CGU France since 2001.
Notes to editors:
- On 1 July 2002 CGNU plc changed its name to Aviva plc. The CGU France companies will be taking the name Aviva in December 2002.
- Aviva is Europe’s biggest provider of life assurance and long- term savings and the largest British Insurance group while occupying leading positions in other markets throughout the world. On the basis of gross premium income, Aviva is the world’s 7th biggest insurer.
- Aviva carries on three main businesses, life assurance and long- term savings, asset management and casualty and property insurance. Its annual premiums amount to over Ł200 million and the assets managed represented more than Ł28 billion as of 31 December 2001.
Press contacts:
Hervé Poreaux tel. 01 55 50 85 92 hervé Poreaux@aviva.fr
Sophie Leblévec tel. 01 55 50 57 86 sophie_leblevec@aviva.fr