FORTY Under 40: Philipp Lürzer
Philipp Lürzer, Captive Centre of Excellence, director, Zurich, Switzerland.
Lürzer partners with captive owners and captive managers to deliver integrated risk and capital solutions. Working across business units and functions, he partners with clients to develop comprehensive risk strategies spanning fronting and captive protection solutions, legacy and capital markets transactions, as well as advanced risk analytics. His focus is on helping captives evolve from insurance vehicles into strategic platforms that support resilience and capital efficiency.
Lürzer joined Swiss Re as a graduate in 2013. Over the course of his career, he has held roles in business development, client management, strategy and operations and broker management. This cross-functional background enables him to combine risk expertise with a deep understanding of client priorities and long-term partnerships in the alternative risk transfer space.
Lürzer holds master’s degrees in international business from HEC Paris in France and Queen’s School of Business in Canada. He is an Austrian citizen based in Zurich.
Looking back at your journey over the past year, what accomplishment are you most proud of, and how has becoming a FORTY Under 40 finalist influenced your perspective on that achievement?
Over this time, I have been closely involved in conversations around how captives are positioned within their wider corporate groups. Across markets, captives are increasingly seen not just as insurance vehicles, but as strategic tools supporting capital efficiency and enterprise resilience.
In practice, that means bringing together CFOs, risk managers, captive managers, brokers and risk experts, often across jurisdictions. Helping align these perspectives so that captives serve broader group objectives has been a key focus.
Being named a FORTY Under 40 finalist has encouraged me to reflect on this wider market evolution and reinforces my commitment to supporting captives in becoming more strategically embedded within their organisations.
What key challenge did you face in your work this year, how did you overcome it, and what did it teach you about leadership at this stage of your career?
One has been building and defining a newly created role with a more integrated mandate for captives. Because the role did not previously exist in this form, shaping its scope and expectations required clarity and persistence.
Connecting expertise across Swiss Re while coordinating CFOs, risk managers, brokers and captive managers externally has required consistent communication and a shared vision. Elevating discussions beyond renewals toward long-term objectives has been central.
At this stage, leadership means creating alignment and building platforms for collaboration, in line with Swiss Re’s “Built to Lead” ambition.
“Captives are increasingly seen not just as insurance vehicles, but as strategic tools supporting capital efficiency and enterprise resilience.”
In what ways have you tried to push innovation or rethink traditional approaches within your sector, and what impact has that had on your team or organisation?
I have tried to encourage a broader perspective of captives as strategic risk platforms. This includes integrating analytics, capital considerations and alternative risk transfer more systematically into captive discussions.
Rather than approach these elements separately, the focus has been on connecting them in a coherent way that reflects how risks materialise across an organisation. Increasingly, conversations centre on resilience and balance sheet strategy rather than premium flows alone.
That more integrated mindset strengthens collaboration across stakeholders and enhances the strategic relevance of captives.
How do you see your role evolving over the next three to five years, and what initiatives are you most excited to pursue as you continue to grow professionally?
To date, my work has been focused primarily on European markets. I aim to expand that perspective more globally and further shape how captives support enterprise resilience across regions.
As risks become more interconnected, captives can serve as strategic platforms linking capital, analytics and enterprise risk management. Data will play a central role in that evolution, particularly through more systematic use of scenario modelling and analytics in captive decision-making.
Supporting this shift toward proactive resilience planning is an area I am particularly motivated to advance.
Many of the FORTY Under 40 winners are recognised for both business success and broader impact – how do you balance professional excellence with contributions to your community or industry landscape?
For me, professional excellence and broader impact are closely connected. In the captive space, meaningful outcomes depend on collaboration, trust and alignment across stakeholders.
I try to contribute by sharing perspectives, supporting younger colleagues and encouraging a more strategic role for captives within the wider risk landscape. Strengthening that ecosystem benefits clients, partners and the next generation alike.
In a world shaped by interconnected risks, progress is collective. If captives can play a stronger role in closing protection gaps, that supports Swiss Re's broader ambition of making the world more resilient.
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