Nine leadership questions for Carli Jacobs, CEO, Swiss Re Africa

Carli Jacobs is CEO of Swiss Re Africa & Head of Life and Health for Middle East and Africa. Carli joined Swiss Re in South Africa in 2018 and was appointed CEO of Swiss Re Africa in April 2023. Carli has 20 years of diverse insurance experience, spanning direct insurance, consulting, broking and various actuarial roles. She is passionate about the South African insurance landscape, sustainability in our industry and connecting the global Swiss Re expertise with local market conditions. Carli holds a BSc degree in Financial Mathematics and is an Associate Member of the Actuarial Society of South Africa (AMASSA).  

1. For how long have you been the CEO of Swiss Re Africa?

I took over this position in April 2023, in addition to my role as Head of L&H Reinsurance Sub-Saharan Africa. Effective 1 July 2024, my Life & Health business portfolio was extended to now also include the Middle East in addition to Africa. 

2. How have your previous roles prepared you for this current role at Swiss Re Africa .... Any challenges, highlights or learnings?

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in a diverse range of roles over the last 20 years, spanning reinsurance, direct insurance and broking. People often say they didn’t choose our industry per se, and similarly, coming from an actuarial background, I didn't specifically choose insurance.

I started my career in the healthcare sector. In looking for some international exposure, I joined the insurance world through Willis Re, where I discovered an entirely new discipline of insurance and reinsurance. I joined Swiss Re six years ago to lead the domestication of our Southern Africa P&C reinsurance business to Swiss Re Africa and assumed the role as head of the P&C team. This was a very exciting project to work on together with the global and local teams that supported our region.

In 2021, I took over the role of Head of L&H Reinsurance for Sub-Saharan Africa and more recently this has been expanded to the Middle East and Africa region.

I’m very grateful to all the remarkable people I have met along this journey who have actively invested in my personal growth, and for the exceptional learning curve our industry offers, which is still challenging me every day.

3. In leading a global reinsurer like Swiss Re Africa, what would you point out as the top qualities of an effective leader?

As a leader, my focus continues to be on sustainable business growth so that we can continue adding value to our clients. To do that, we need good people in our organisation, and I strongly believe that effective leaders nurture an environment that attracts, develops and retains talent. My greatest passion, even before assuming the role to head Swiss Re Africa, has always been to create opportunities for people to grow, to continuously learn and to foster a work environment where they can thrive. Companies are made by the people they employ. It's our most valuable asset, and my role is to empower the Swiss Re Africa team, so they can grow personally and professionally, and continue to deliver exceptional services to our clients.

4. What would you say are Swiss Re Africa's top priority areas for the next three years?

Swiss Re Africa is a leading reinsurer on the African continent, but there's still a lot to do towards our vision to make the world more resilient. Cementing our place as the leading composite reinsurer in the market by bringing innovation to expand insurance coverage, is a goal we strive towards across our P&C and L&H pillars of the business. We have made great progress towards these goals over the last number of years. To continue building on this is a top priority.

5. As a leading global financial institution, how do you attract and retain talent?

I would like to point out three things that make Swiss Re attractive as an employer:

• Firstly, our clear purpose: to make the world more resilient for the benefit of our society and environment. We take on many of the world’s biggest risk challenges and empower our clients with deep knowledge, intelligent data and innovative risk solutions.
• Secondly, the people, who have a great balance of being competitive, talented and experienced along with a real sense of collaboration, care and respect. We have an inclusive culture and we want every employee to feel respected and comfortable bringing their true selves to work. We value everyone’s unique perspective. We build diverse teams and encourage fresh perspectives and innovative thinking.
• Thirdly, Swiss Re offers an attractive work environment with flexible working options, great development and networking opportunities and a wide range of employee benefits. All of these things contribute to building an inclusive environment and allow our people to thrive – and also to attract new talent.

6. How do you see technology playing a much more significant role in how financial, including insurance/reinsurance products are developed and distributed in the next few years?

• Technology is already part of our day to day and will continue to significantly influence the future of our industry. Process automation is top of mind for most industry players – streamlining underwriting processes and enhancing speed and responsiveness to clients. We will continue to find ways to be more operationally efficient and potentially lower costs in the longer term.
• Technology also allows us to consider improved ways of insuring and understanding existing risks. There are so many examples here – parametric triggers or smart home devices on the short-term side, continuous glucose monitors on the life side.

7. What would you point out as key areas of concern for the insurance/reinsurance sector - from a global perspective - in the next three to five years?

Our industry has a long track record of coping with and managing change, and coming out stronger. Backed with new technologies and access to data we've never had before, we are confident that the industry will rise to the challenges we currently face, which range from climate change and recurring high natural catastrophe losses to geopolitical tensions and political instability.

The key for our industry will be collaboration with bodies such as public sector, research institutions and tech companies, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the evolving risk landscape.

8. If you could go back and give your 18-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?

To have studied harder at university, it would have made the actuarial exams I had to write whilst working so much easier to navigate! I would have loved to discover at that point already, that even with many many more hours of studying, university life could still be relatively carefree and adventurous, and that building personal resilience is something you actively work on, for yourself, all the time, so there is no better time to start than the present.  

9. What is the one book you would recommend to your audience, and why?

I really enjoy reading fiction as a change from all the real-world issues we deal with daily. It's good to make time for yourself, take care of your personal wellbeing, and recharge for the next business sprint!