Insurance companies' 2024 personnel directory: 4 central enterprises change "leaders," life insurance values bank insurance resources

With the appointment of Yin Zhaojun as the Party Secretary of China Taiping (0966.HK), the adjustment of the top executives of leading insurance companies has already taken place this year.

According to incomplete statistics, there have been more than 60 personnel changes in the insurance industry within the third quarter alone, with over a hundred personnel changes involving the "top one and two" positions throughout the year.

Overall, adjustments in the "top one" positions of leading insurance companies often signify a shift in strategy and style, potentially triggering a chain reaction in personnel changes from the group level to its subsidiaries in property and life insurance companies.

Meanwhile, small and medium-sized insurance companies that bring in experienced executives from leading institutions will also gain insights and perspectives from the forefront of the industry.

Xinfeng will summarize the more than a hundred personnel changes this year, analyzing the changes in the management of insurance companies and the reasons behind them.

Top Executives in Place

Since the fourth quarter, four central enterprises—China Life, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, China National Insurance Group, and China Taiping—have all seen adjustments in their "top one" positions.

Among them, the new leaders of China Life and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation are rare cases of financial vice provincial leaders being "parachuted" into the insurance industry.

At the end of October, Ding Xiangqun, a 59-year-old member of the 20th Central Committee, became the first female leader of China Life, now serving as chairman;

In the following month, Wang Hao, the deputy governor and member of the Party Committee of Yunnan Province, came to Beijing to take up the position of Party Secretary of China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation.

The "top one" positions at China Life and China Taiping were filled by internal promotions.

In November, Cai Xiliang, who had been appointed Party Secretary of China Life Group, stepped down as president to become one of the few internally promoted chairmen of China Life Group;

In the following month, Yin Zhaojun, the general manager of Taiping, succeeded the retiring Wang Sidong to take up the position of Party Secretary.

Although there have not yet been large-scale personnel changes or policy adjustments at these four insurance companies, past experiences suggest that changes in the "top one" positions are often accompanied by restructuring of the leadership team and shifts in strategic style.

Xinhua Insurance is a typical example.

In August 2023, Yang Yucheng, president of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, was "parachuted" into Xinhua Insurance to serve as chairman.

Upon taking office, Yang Yucheng attended the "Ninety Double Fly" launch meeting within a week, stating that the company's "core competitiveness is weak, regional resource investment efficiency is low, and customer management system is not perfect";

He then initiated systematic market-oriented reforms, adjusting channels, marketing systems, organizational structures, and incentive mechanisms according to the main line of "customer management."

By the end of the first half of the year, several core departments at Xinhua headquarters had personnel adjustments; 18 of the 35 branch heads faced changes, and organizational restructuring at the third and fourth levels began.

In September 2024, Gong Xingfeng, the vice president ranked first at Xinhua Insurance, was promoted to president, solidifying the new leadership team and deepening the reform.

China Ping An also experienced a similar situation.

In September 2023, Chen Xinying, the "working queen" who had topped the "insurance executive compensation" list for many years, resigned as co-CEO of Ping An, triggering a series of personnel changes.

Almost simultaneously, Ping An's Chief Human Resources Executive Guo Xiaotao succeeded Chen Xinying as co-CEO, while Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Chairman Sun Jianping took over Guo Xiaotao's position, and Long Quan, Chairman of Autohome, filled Sun Jianping's role.

Adjustments in life insurance companies continued into the following year.

In September 2024, Yu Hong, general manager of Ping An Life, resigned, and Party Secretary and Chairman Yang Zheng took over the responsibilities of general manager At Ping An Life, which prefers to internally select senior executives, the question of who among the current five vice presidents will "take over" has become a focus of market attention.

As of now, Ping An Life has five vice presidents: Cai Ting, Hu Jingping, Deng Minghui, Wang Guoping, and Shi Weiyu, each responsible for channels, products and financial enterprises, individual insurance business and institutional supervision, finance and risk management, community grid business and independent brokerage, and operations center, technology research and development, legal compliance department, and audit supervision.

Ping An Life stated that the company is orderly advancing the appointment of a new general manager. It will hire young, experienced, and broad-minded composite talents to enrich the management team in line with strategic advancement and operational management needs.

Preference for "Bank Insurance" Background

The personnel adjustments reflect the directional context of the business side.

With the deepening of reforms such as "integration of reporting and operations" and "cancellation of the 1-to-3 restriction," the importance of traditional bank insurance channels is increasingly becoming a consensus, and management with banking and bank insurance backgrounds is highly favored in the adjustment process of life insurance companies.

Representative figures include Wu Jianwei, who joined Ping An Life, and Li Jinsong, who was promoted to president of CPIC Life.

In June 2024, it was reported that Wu Jianwei, who had resigned as vice president of Zhejiang Commercial Bank for two years, might serve as vice president of Ping An Life, overseeing the bank insurance division.

For Ping An Life, Wu Jianwei is a rare "external brain," as he has no prior experience within Ping An or even in the insurance industry.

However, he has worked in the banking system for many years.

He joined Zhejiang Commercial Bank from Agricultural Bank in 2015, serving as assistant president, vice president, and president of the Shanghai branch.

In February 2022, Wu Jianwei resigned from all positions and has since remained inactive until the news of his new role at Ping An Life emerged.

The market generally speculates that Ping An Life is focusing on Wu Jianwei's rich banking experience, hoping to leverage him to bridge the bank insurance channel.

Previously, both Ping An Life and Ping An Bank have repeatedly emphasized their importance on the bank insurance channel, including customizing policies for the "new bank insurance team," raising team thresholds, and improving team benefits.

The new head of CPIC Life also has deep ties to bank insurance business.

On July 25, CPIC Life's official website announced that former vice president Li Jinsong had been approved by regulators to take over as general manager.

Unlike the externally hired former general manager Cai Qiang, 55-year-old Li Jinsong has been in the CPIC system for many years.

After returning from the Sichuan branch to the life insurance headquarters, Li Jinsong served as general manager of the bank insurance department, assistant general manager, and vice president of CPIC Life.

During his tenure as vice president, Li Jinsong led the team to achieve breakthroughs in bank insurance channel business, with revenue growth of 2 times and 3 times in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

From the analysis of the first half of the year, indicators such as the new business value representing value premiums for CPIC Life have improved, but at the same time, the new premium scale and total premium of the bank insurance channel have shown a downward trend.

In mid-July, Li Jinsong also mentioned issues regarding bank insurance development, stating that the current integration of bank insurance cooperation is still insufficient, with only simple additive effects between partners, making it difficult to generate multiplicative effects.

The industry generally views Li Jinsong's succession as a positive signal of CPIC's emphasis on the bank insurance channel

Delivery from the Top

This year, there have also been numerous personnel changes among foreign capital and small and medium-sized insurance companies.

Among them, several insurance companies have introduced "external brains" from leading institutions.

One situation is that large insurance companies are sending mature executives to the small and medium-sized insurance companies they invest in.

For example, executives from Beijing University Founder Life Insurance come from the "Ping An system," and executives from Ruizhong Life Insurance come from the "China Life system."

After completing the equity change in February last year, Ping An Life Insurance became the largest shareholder of Beijing University Founder with a 66.51% stake.

In August 2024, Ping An Life's veteran Han Guang was approved to serve as the general manager of Beijing University Founder; the company's deputy general manager and chief actuary Wei Chunping and deputy general manager Hu Jie also have backgrounds in the "Ping An system."

Another situation is that foreign and small to medium-sized institutions value the resources and experience held by top executives and hire "external brains" to make up for deficiencies in their business.

AIA is one representative.

In September this year, Yu Hong, a veteran from Ping An Life who was deeply involved in strategic planning and assisted in promoting the "4 channels + 3 products" reform, resigned from his position as general manager after his re-employment period ended.

Two months later, AIA's general manager Zhang Xiaoyu was promoted to regional CEO of AIA; Yu Hong filled the vacancy left by his promotion.

On the day of his promotion, Zhang Xiaoyu stated in an internal letter that "Yu Hong will bring diverse perspectives and more vitality to the company's long-term development, leading the company into a new stage of development."

AIA, which values Ping An executives, happens to be an object of envy for joint venture insurance companies.

As a life insurance company with a tendency to "transfer abroad," Huatai Life's major shareholder "Chubb Group" has currently achieved control.

To achieve localization, Huatai Life has attempted to replicate the AIA model since last year by introducing three executives from the "AIA system."

In February 2024, Zheng Shaowei, the former general manager of AIA's Jiangsu branch, was appointed general manager of Huatai Life; at the end of 2023, Wang Wenxu, the former deputy general manager of AIA's Beijing branch, and Yao Naiwei, the former general manager of AIA's Sichuan branch, were appointed deputy general manager and general manager of Huatai Life's Beijing branch, respectively.

From the performance in the first three quarters, Huatai Life has accumulated a loss of 754 million yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year decline of 271.4%, ranking 7th in terms of loss amount among 75 life insurance companies.

Due to differences in corporate culture, management style, and other aspects, whether Huatai Life can successfully replicate the "AIA path" remains unknown.

In addition, several century-old life insurance companies and Dinghe Property Insurance, among others, also prefer executives from leading institutions.

For example, Dai Wenhao, the former deputy general manager of China Pacific Life Insurance with mature experience in individual insurance construction, was approved in June to serve as the general manager of Century Life Insurance.

The new chairman of Century Life Insurance is Wang Xinhao, the former vice president of Pudong Development Bank.

There are market voices speculating that Century Life Insurance's introduction of Dai Wenhao may be due to Wang Xinhao's previous strategic cooperation with Dai Wenhao, knowing that his capabilities would help fill the company's shortcomings.

In the past, many former "China Pacific system" executives have performed well after leaving for new positions, such as Wang Rundong, the former general manager of Sunshine Life Insurance, and Yu Hua, the current general manager of Dajia Life Insurance.

After Dai Wenhao's appointment, Century Life Insurance's self-operated channel construction has gradually strengthened, such as formulating the "Initiation Project" five-year development strategic plan in 2023 and launching the "New Partners Initiative" talent program in 2024 However, as of the third quarter, Century Life has suspended the disclosure of its solvency for six quarters and has not yet resumed updates. It remains to be seen whether the collaboration between Wang Xinhao and Dai Wenhao can successfully help it overcome its difficulties