Allianz Commercial Insurance has appointed Elke Vagenende as commercial managing director for Benelux and the Nordics, effective Q1 2024. In the role, Vagenende will represent the firm’s property and casualty insurance solutions for mid-sized companies, large corporations and specialty clients in the regions. She will report to Dirk Volger, chief regions and markets officer and Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality (AGCS) SE board member, and Joos Louwerier, Allianz Benelux CEO. The business will approach the model Allianz announced in March, which combined the AGCS business, serving large corporate and specialty clients, with the insurance businesses of its operating entities, serving mid-sized country-based accounts. It will trade under ‘Allianz Commercial’. Vagenende has more than 20 years of industry experience and joins Allianz from AIG, where she was head of multinational. Earlier in her career, Vagenende spent six years with AGCS in a number of roles, including head of financial institutions and head of UK market management. Commenting on the appointment, Vogler says: “[Vagenende is] a top executive in the market with a proven track record of delivery. Her appointment also marks a significant milestone – the completion of our regional leadership team across our 11 regions.” Louwerier adds: “With [Vagenende’s] leadership we will be able to build an even stronger and more integrated team to serve the Allianz Commercial specialty clients, large corporations and mid-sized companies in the future in the Benelux and Nordics regions.”
