Alexander Bockelmann appointed as new Chief Digital Officer and head of IT at UNIQA

UNIQA has a new Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer in Alexander Bockelmann, 42. In his newly created function at UNIQA, Bockelmann will report directly to Erik Leyers, Chief Operation Officer and member of the Group’s Management Board. Bockelmann and his team will advance digitalisation at UNIQA and establish the necessary digital platforms to enable UNIQA to meet the new customer expectations and deliver on what it promises its customers.

“Digitalisation represents an opportunity for the insurance industry to transform its core business by changing from a provider of insurance products into an integrated service provider. We want to meet our customers in their individual needs environment, where they intuitively expect security and associated services,” says Erik Leyers, describing the change faced by the insurance industry. “These are the challenges that Alexander Bockelmann will devote himself to with his team.”
 
Commenting on his future work, Alexander Bockelmann says: “In this environment, the Chief Digital Officer must help to develop services and products. We want to be there for our customers at the time, in the place and via the channel that suits them.”

“UNIQA’s digitalisation is driven not by technology, but by the expectations and wishes of our customers, our UNIQA 2.0 business strategy and our employees. As Digital Officer, I will put this customer focus and customer proximity centre stage. On this basis, we will press ahead with the necessary digital platforms and support our customers digitally through our company and their lives in the future.”

Alexander Bockelmann joined UNIQA in October 2013 and was previously responsible for the Group’s IT. In this role, his tasks with his team over the past two years included establishing a new IT service provider for the UNIQA Group in the form of UNIQA IT Services GmbH. The environmental science graduate has extensive experience in the insurance industry in Germany and the USA. He is married and lives with his wife and daughter in Vienna.

The newly created functions of Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer are part of an extensive innovation and investment programme. In order to trigger the necessary innovation boost, UNIQA will invest €500 million in its future over the next few years. These investments will largely go on the redesign of the business model, the necessary IT systems and the build-up of expertise this requires. In addition to the Chief Digital Officer, a Chief Innovation Officer has also been appointed for this purpose and likewise reports directly to the holding company’s Management Board.

UNIQA
The UNIQA Group is one of the leading insurance groups in its core markets of Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). 21,300 employees and exclusive sales partners serve more than 10 million customers in 19 countries. UNIQA is the second-largest insurance group in Austria with a market share of more than 22 per cent. UNIQA operates in 15 markets in the CEE growth region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. The UNIQA Group also includes insurance companies in Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.