JOHANNESBURG - Financial services company, Allianz Africa, on Monday appointed Adja Samb as chief executive of Allianz Senegal, with effect from January 1 and subject to regulatory approval, with the aim of aligning its strong business ambitions in Africa.
Based in Dakar, Samb replaces Xavier Laurent who becomes regional head of market management and will lead a new team. She has previously served as head of operations and chief marketing officer at Allianz Morocco, a position she held from March 2015.
Samb will manage both life and non-life entities in Senegal and report to Coenraad Vrolijk, the regional chief executive of Allianz Africa. Vrolijk said Samb was a great asset and high performer in her previous role of leading the operations team at Allianz Morocco.
"She has the requisite knowledge and the leadership skills to succeed in her new position as CEO. I have no doubt that she will blaze the trail set by Xavier Laurent in developing our activities in Senegal, which is a high potential country for our group," Vrolijk said.
Meanwhile, Allianz said that Laurent, who be based in Casablanca, will be responsible for the development and delivery of customer-centric strategy across the continent.
Allianz said the new team will drive regional business growth and strengthen relationship with multinational clients and brokers. The regional teams managing distribution, bank insurance relationship management and micro-insurance expansion will also report to Laurent.
Delphine Traoré Maïdou, regional chief operations officer, said Laurent has extensive knowledge of Allianz and a good understanding of the insurance market in the sub-Saharan region.
"This strategic appointment will foster our business growth across the region and reinforce our bonds with our key partner," Maïdou said.