Philippe Donnet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 26, 1960 Suresnes, France |
| Alma mater | École Polytechnique, Institut des Actuaires |
| Employer | Assicurazioni Generali |
| Title | CEO |
| Term | 2016–present |
Philippe Donnet (born 26 July 1960 in Suresnes, France) is a French business executive with Italian citizenship and has been the CEO of Assicurazioni Generali since March 2016. [1] [2]
Donnet entered École Polytechnique in 1980 and graduated in Engineering in 1983; there he met Claude Bébéar, the founder of AXA, who later became his mentor. [3] In 1986, he became an actuary, [4] and in 1991 he became agrégé at the Institute of Actuaries of France. [5] [6] [7]
In 1985, Donnet began his insurance career at AXA, [5] where he held different positions until 1997, when he was appointed Deputy Managing Director of AXA Conseil. [8]
In 1999, Donnet was appointed CEO of AXA Assicurazioni in Italy [5] and then in 2001 he was appointed Regional CEO, responsible for the Mediterranean region, Middle East, Latin America and Canada. [6] Additionally, in 2002, Donnet was assigned the role of chairman and CEO of AXA Re as well as Chairman of AXA Corporate Solutions. [8] In 2003, Donnet was named CEO of Axa Japan [9] where he operated in the context of an economy characterized by very low interest rates; [3] in 2006 he took on the role of CEO for the entire Asia-Pacific region. [6] [10]
In 2007, he left the insurance sector for a period of six years to take on the position of General Manager for the Asia-Pacific region at Wendel Investissement, Singapore. [9] In 2010, Donnet founded HLD, an investment firm. [11] In 2008, he joined the Board of Directors of Vivendi, a role he kept until 2016.
Donnet joined Generali in 2013 as country manager for Italy and CEO of Generali Italia. [12] [13] He led the integration of five Generali Group brands (Generali, Ina Assitalia, Toro, Lloyd Italico e Augusta). [14] [15] In the same period, starting from February 2015, he held the position of Chairman of the MIB School of Management in Trieste for three years. [16]
Appointed CEO of Generali Group on 17 March 2016, [17] [18] under his management the Group's results improved significantly between 2016 and 2021: the operating result grew from 4.8 billion to reach 5.9 billion euros (the best operating result ever), [19] the net result reached 2.8 billion from 2.0 billion euros, debt dropped to 9.6 billion from 13.1 billion euro, and the Solvency Ratio rose to 227%, up from 175%. [20] [21] Under his guidance, Generali renewed its relationship with Venice, collaborating in the restoration of the Royal Gardens (2019), [22] restoring the Procuratie Vecchie (reopened to the public in 2022), [23] [24] and participating in the foundation of the association "Venice, the world capital of sustainability.” [25]
In May 2016, he was appointed Chairman of Generali Italia, a role he held until August 2022. [26]
In 2022, Generali’s outgoing board put forward Donnet for a third mandate as CEO. [27] On 29 April 2022, Donnet was reconfirmed as Group CEO of Generali, with the majority of votes of the Shareholders' Meeting in favour of his reappointment. [28] [29]
Donnet is a former rugby player [36] and he is among the major French wood barrel manufacturers. [37]
He is very attached to the city of Venice, where he chose to reside; on 23 April 2021, he was conferred Italian citizenship by the mayor Luigi Brugnaro.
He is passionate about cycling and tennis and has three children. [38] [39]
France: Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite in 2006 [40] [41] France: Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 2016 [42] 
Italy: Cavaliere (Knight) of the Order of Merit for Labour in 2021 [43]