Group Head of Strategy & Change

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Our organisation

Ageas is a listed international insurance Group with a heritage spanning of 200 years, offering Retail and Business customers Life and Non-Life insurance, and is also engaged in reinsurance activities.

 

As an international (re-)insurance company, Ageas concentrates its activities in Europe and Asia through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and long-term partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors. Ageas is present in 13 countries, proudly serving and going the extra mile for its 50M clients in Europe and Asia.

 

Ageas ranks among the market leaders in the countries in which it operates. It represents a staff force of about 50,000 people. Ageas reported annual inflows of over EUR 17 billion in 2023 and Net Operating Result of 1.17B€ in 2023. It is a publicly listed company on the Bel-20 with a market capitalization of 8.9B€ (End of November 2024).

 

Ageas aims to be a Great place to Grow for all its people, while always staying true to its four values: care, share, deliver and dare. It fosters an inclusive culture, that values diversity and encourages everyone to get the best out of their talents. 

Ageas has been re-certified as Top Employer in 2024.

 

The vibrant Ageas Corporate Centre in Brussels is home to a variety of Group level functions including, amongst others, Risk, Finance, Legal & Compliance, Investor Relations, Human Resources, Strategy, Business Development and Corporate Communications. It sets out the long term strategy for Ageas and coordinates numerous initiatives across the Group to help realise the strategic ambitions. The Corporate Centre also facilitates knowledge and skills sharing amongst its local operating entities and JV’s, creating strong connections and leveraging on local strengths. It represents the Ageas Group towards external parties, managing relations with analysts, retail and institutional investors, regulators, rating agencies and the media.

The strategy team

The objective of the strategy team at Ageas Group is to develop and refine the overall three-year strategic plan for Ageas Group (in casu "Ageas Elevate 27") :

• Making strategic choices and setting the strategic themes and direction for Ageas Group, together with the board, ExCo and Business Comité (at the level of Ageas Group, a listed group with 8.9B€ of market capitalization and 17B€ top-line / 1.17B€ bottom-line)
• Prioritize key strategic initiatives to support the three-year strategic plan
• Follow-up our progress on our strategic plan through a group-wide dashboard, and build a robust change management capability across the organization – to support CDSO in the exécution of the strategic initiatives.

 

The Head of Strategy & Change, together with the strategy team, will also drive our long-term thinking at Ageas Group, a core value that we embrace as group and that we communicate upon externally

• Leading the horizon scan, a yearly exercise in which we monitor and cluster our long-term trends, together with all OpCo’s, into « speed-up / no brainer / alarm / observatory / parking »), leveraging AI (Trensition) and People (~2000 participants across the OpCO’s of Ageas)
• Leading the ThinkBeyond community (group of ~30 senior leaders across all OpCo’s) to reflect on the outcomes

 

Additionally, the Head of Strategy, will be responsible to drive forward the portfolio review on a yearly basis, as requested by the board and in close collaboration with the ExCo

• Clustering of our OpCo portfolio in “performing” , “growth engines” (blue bubble) and “transformation entities” (orange bubble)
• On a yearly basis, our OpCo footprint will be assessed from a market attractiveness/growth perspective, a competitive perspective (what is our right to win in the local market) and financial perspective (what is the RoE of the entity, financial performance, operational performance and expected cash generation)
• Outcomes will be discussed 1-to-1 with each ExCo member and in ExCo and board on a yearly basis. Including proposed actions / decisions on M&A consolidation or M&A exit actions (i.e. a highly senior and sensitive discussion)

 

The Head of Strategy & Change, together with the team, drives the innovation and outside-in thinking, represents Ageas externally in innovation & strategic fora (e.g. the Geneva Association, e.g. Insurance innovation fora,…),…

 

To lead the Strategy & Change team, we are looking for a Head of Strategy & Change.

Your responsibilities

• The role encompasses a senior management role within Ageas Group
  • Ideally based out of Brussels, yet with intrinsic mobility (can be further discussed)

 

• Key responsibilities as part of the role include the following:
  • Put together and evolve the strategy plan at the level of group (“Ageas Strategy 27”)
  • Identify priorities and the initiatives along the strategic plan (with CDSO executing on the key strategic initiatives and transformations)
  • Support and drive the innovation thinking and capacity (and link with InsurTechs / innovation lab) within Ageas
  • Represent Ageas externally on the topics of strategy & innovation (conferences, interview,…)
  • Build a change management capability across the group by setting up strong project management office
  • Work together hand in hand with the CDSO team and the strategy teams in the OPCo’s (setting up strategy council)

 

• In terms of governance, the “Strategy & Change” Head will:
  • Report directly into the head of Business development
  • Chair the “Strategy Forum” at Ageas group (running every 6-8 weeks)
  • Lead the “strategy & change” team at the level of Ageas Group
  • Drive the yearly portfolio review at the level of Ageas Group (with ExCo and for report out to the Board)
  • Actively participate to the Ageas ExCo & Board to provide updates on our strategy and change intiatives
  • Have a regular invitation to the Business Committé at the level of Ageas (ExCo + Business CEO’s)
  • Lead the « ThinkBeyond » community group (~30 leaders across OpCo’s) together with the strategy team

Your profile

• Extensive Experience in Strategic Planning and Execution: Proven experience in formulating and evolving large-scale strategic plans at a senior management level, ideally within the insurance or financial services sector (15+ years of experience)
• Leadership and Governance Skills: Ability to lead and chair strategy councils, manage cross-functional teams, and regularly report to top-level executives (ExCo, Board). Ability to interact on strategic topics with individual ExCo members (e.g. in the context of the choices/progress in Elevate 27; e.g. on the yearly portfolio review,…)
• Innovation and Transformation Expertise: Strong knowledge of innovation processes, particularly in areas such as digital transformation, InsurTech, and Data & AI.
• Execution and Project Management: Expertise in driving execution support, managing complex transformation initiatives, and building change management capabilities through strong project management practices. 
• Mobility and Adaptability: Willingness to be based in Brussels or adapt to flexible work arrangements, with possible travel between various Ageas offices.

Our offer?

• The possibility of (maximum 50%) home working;
• A dynamic, multicultural working environment;
• An interesting and extensive salary package (including meal vouchers, eco vouchers, hospitalization, disability and group insurance, additional child benefit, mobile allowance and intervention in the internet reimbursement, ...);
• The possibility to optimize part of your salary package through a flexible income plan;
• A corporate culture where you are encouraged to share your views and opinions;
• A flat organizational structure with close collaboration and communication with management and cross departments;
• A company car with charging card;
• An extensive range of learning & development opportunities through our online learning platform;
• The opportunity to further develop yourself and to be part of a great team at a Top employer in Belgium. Find out more about it here.