SCOR announces death of Kessler
Re/insurer SCOR has announced that it has learned of the death of company chairman Denis Kessler on June 9, 2023, at the age of 71.
An economist and an iconic figure of the insurance and reinsurance world, and more widely of the French business world, Kessler devoted his entire life to business, first within employer and trade organisations, and then at SCOR, which he joined as chairman and chief executive on November 4, 2002.
In a press release announcing the news, SCOR said: “With his cutting-edge vision, his outstanding commitment and his leadership, Denis Kessler turned the Group around in spectacular fashion over a period of more than two decades, enabling it to become a leading global reinsurer. He became non-executive chairman of SCOR on June 30, 2021.”
The company added that the members of the board and all of SCOR’s employees share the sorrow of his family and friends and offer them their condolences.
In accordance with the internal regulations of the board of directors, vice-chairman Augustin de Romanet will chair the board for an interim period, until a new Chairman is appointed as part of the ongoing process.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Denis Kessler, with whom we have been fortunate enough to work for many years. He was an exceptional individual, with visionary leadership and incredible intelligence,” said the directors of SCOR in a joint statement. “We have lost a friend. We salute the memory of a great man and an extraordinary leader, who was passionate about the insurance and reinsurance industries, their techniques, their values and their philosophy.
“Denis has made a tremendous contribution to SCOR’s development over the past 21 years, and more widely to public debate on major contemporary economic and social policy issues. He has left a profound imprint on the Group, with the double hallmark of high standards and excellence, which the teams he built will perpetuate. To his family and friends, our company expresses its deepest sympathy, gratitude and support."
Thierry Léger, chief executive of SCOR, commented: “Over the past two decades, Denis Kessler has been the architect behind SCOR’s success and reputation throughout the world. His passion for reinsurance was unparalleled, and his ambition to make SCOR an industry leader never left him. It has been the driving force behind all his actions at the head of the Group over the past 21 years. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside Denis. He leaves us an extraordinary legacy. It is now up to us to carry on his work. The strong foundations on which he rebuilt the Group enable us to look to the future with total confidence.”
