In “Do you have a moment?” Allianz CEO Oliver Bäte talks to Rainer Esser about lessons from times of crisis, digitalization and social responsibility.
Allianz CEO Oliver Bäte talks to Rainer Esser in the podcast “Do you have a moment?” about crisis management, the future of the insurance industry and the change caused by AI and digitalization.
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Oliver Bäte was appointed to the Allianz Board of Directors in 2008 and took over as CEO in 2015.
When the management consultant Oliver Bäte was appointed directly to the Allianz board in 2008 without detours through deputy management positions, he still needed special permission from the Ministry of Finance. Less than ten years later, he is at the helm of the company as CEO.
In “Do you have a moment?” Oliver Bäte shares what lessons he has learned in times of crisis in the industry and Allianz: Essentially, for him it is less about looking for someone to blame than about finding a solution as quickly as possible and looking forward. He sees himself in the role of the person responsible for protecting the trust of partners and customers as the most important asset.
Rainer Esser and Oliver Bäte discuss the future of the German insurance system together; especially with regard to the change caused by digitalization and artificial intelligence. The Allianz CEO emphasizes that his own generation has a duty to leave a fair and sustainable society to their children: both entrepreneurially and socio-politically.
Oliver Bäte was born in Bensberg in 1965. After a banking apprenticeship at WestLB, he did military service in Sardinia and studied business administration in Cologne; he later earned his MBA in New York. He worked for the management consultancy McKinsey for around 15 years before moving to the board of Allianz in 2008 and taking over as CEO in 2015. Since then, Allianz's share price has more than tripled.
This episode was recorded on August 3, 2026 in Munich.

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