Aviva, the international savings, investment and insurance group, is delighted to announce that it has recruited Adam Uszpolewicz to become the new chief executive of CU Polska, the group’s life and pensions business in Poland.
Aviva, the international savings, investment and insurance group, is delighted to announce that it has recruited Adam Uszpolewicz to become the new chief executive of CU Polska, the group’s life and pensions business in Poland.
He will take up the new role of deputy chief executive from 12 February 2007 and will become CEO when Zbigniew Andrzejewski retires on 31 March 2007.
Uszpolewicz is currently an executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Warsaw and has held senior positions in a number of leading international financial services companies, such as GE Capital and Cigna, including working in London and Luxembourg.
From 1999 to 2005 Uszpolewicz played a leading role in developing the Polish arm of Nationwide, an American life insurance company, taking it from start-up to one of the top five life insurance businesses in the Polish market.
Uszpolewicz is a qualified chartered accountant and has a degree in English and economics from Copenhagen University.
Tidjane Thiam, chief executive Aviva Europe, said: "Zbigniew joined CU Polska Life in 1997 and went on to lead the group successfully through some very challenging and exciting times. Both as group chief actuary, for six years, and as group CEO, the role to which he was promoted in 2004, he played a key role in consolidating CU Polska's leading position in the Polish market. Over the last 10 years, CU Polska's total assets have grown from £50 million to £8 billion, a compound growth rate of 65% per year. With over three million customers, CU Polska is now the fifth largest financial institution in Poland, and I’m therefore pleased that the business will continue to have Zbigniew's support in an advisory capacity until the end of the year.”
Zbigniew Andrzejewski commented: “I have really enjoyed my time leading Aviva's business in Poland. During my 10 years here CU Polska has become a market-leading company in both Poland and Lithuania, with growth we could only dream about ten years ago. I look forward to helping Adam settle in as CEO and I’m sure that he’ll continue to build our business in Poland with great success.”
Commenting on the appointment of Adam Uszpolewicz, Tidjane Thiam said: “Adam brings to CU Polska the benefit of his extensive experience of the international financial services sector, together with expertise in defining and executing successful business development strategies. Adam has a very impressive track record, particularly in the investment and bancassurance arena and, above all, he has an excellent understanding of the life insurance sector in central and eastern Europe. I’m delighted that he’s joining the team and am confident that under his leadership, Aviva will continue to go from strength to strength in Poland.”
Uszpolewicz commented: “CU Polska has tremendous potential and I’m very pleased to have an opportunity to play such a key role in releasing it. Zbig has laid a solid foundation upon which we can now build and I’m looking forward to doing that by taking the company on to the next stage of its development.”
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Enquiries:
Analysts
Charles Barrows, investor relations director +44 (0)20 7662 8115
Jessie Burrows, head of investor relations +44 (0)20 7662 2111
Media
Hayley Stimpson, director of external affairs +44 (0)20 7662 7544
Sue Winston, head of group media relations +44 (0)20 7662 8221
Notes to editors:
Career summary
| PricewaterhouseCoopers, Poland | Managing director, Finance industry advisory services |
| Nationwide, Luxembourg & Poland | Executive vice president, Nationwide Global |
| CEO, Paneurolife | |
| Director, Gartmore SICAV | |
| General manager, Nationwide Global Europe | |
| CEO, Nationwide Poland | |
| Cigna, Poland | Executive vice president – sales, marketing and product development |
| GE Capital, UK | Managing director, GE Capital Poland |
| Business development director, Central and Eastern Europe | |
| Price Waterhouse, Poland and UK | Manager, financial services and management consulting |
| Senior audit | |
| Audit assistant |
- A photograph of Adam Uszpolewicz, 41, is available at Aviva’s online media centre at www.aviva.com/media
- Commercial Union Polska, based in Warsaw, is the largest pensions provider in Poland with a 28% market share and it is the second largest life insurance business in the country. It has six business units with over 1,000 staff and 3,000 tied insurance agents. The CU Group is among Poland’s largest financial groups with over 3 million customers.
- Aviva plc is the world’s fifth-largest insurance group and the UK’s largest insurance services provider (based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2005), and is one of the leading providers of life and pension products to Europe, with substantial positions in other markets around the world.
- Aviva’s principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £36 billion and assets under management of £322 billion at 31 December 2005.
- The Aviva media centre at www.aviva.com/media includes images, logos, company and product information and a news release archive.