Eurapco Board Event is held virtually for the first time

Zurich, 23 October, 2020

On 2 October 2020, Eurapco hosted on its biennial Board Event which underscored the current coronavirus pandemic challenges, the impact of the crisis on the Eurapco Partners’ businesses and new opportunities that the crisis may be offering.

The virtual event was opened by the General Manager of the Alliance, Wilma de Bruijn, who set the tone for the audience about the corona crisis and its impact on Eurapco and the Partner companies. At the outset, she introduced her co-hosts, Liesbeth van der Kruit, Director of MVO at  Achmea and Luca Filippone, Chairman of the Eurapco Board, who went on to discuss the importance of togetherness and sharing experiences across the Alliance in these challenging times. He also addressed the situation in Italy during the outbreak and how pivotal it is to reshape the way insurance companies work by giving back some of the wealth they are able to produce through social activities. The other CEOs also participated in answering the question about the opportunities they see coming from the crisis.

The keynote speakers invited are some of the most prominent business experts and professors in Europe and the U.S. The first speaker was Prof. Dr. René Rohrbeck, founding partner of Rohrbeck Heger Strategic Foresight + Innovation, who delivered a presentation on how to better anticipate and prepare for any possible crisis. The second speaker, Pia Tischhauser, Senior Partner & Managing Director Global Insurance from Boston Consulting Group, talked about blending human talent with digital technologies in new ways to create fast, intuitive and digitally enabled experiences for customers through bionic distribution.

Subsequently, Niels Hagenaar, Strategist at Gupta Strategists, discussed how the corona crisis permanently influenced the way health care is being delivered. The fourth speaker, Prof. Dr. Rebecca M. Henderson, John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard Business School, transitioned the discussion to the importance of firms being authentically purpose-driven with genuine business models that are more sustainable and human-focused. And finally, Prof. Diana Derval from DervalResearch gave a very interactive session on the latest developments in the fields of sensors, biomarkers and health prevention.

The event also provided participants with exciting experiences including an online cartoonist who drew the highlights of each attraction, comedians and a physiotherapist who performed very useful home office exercises to improve people’s wellbeing.

The session was concluded with closing remarks from Luca Filippone, who acknowledged the need for insurers to add real value by taking a more customer-centric approach using technology. He added that insurance companies already have a higher purpose that is even more vital in times of crisis.

After the event, Wilma de Bruijn stated, “It was great to host this event in a different way this year. Even though it had to be virtually, we were able to stage an unusual but valuable Board Event thanks to an outstanding group of keynote speakers, high-quality breakout sessions and some unique experiences”. Some participants commented, “This was the best virtual event I attended since the start of the pandemic”, “I got really inspired by all the excellent speakers and great experiences presented” and “The board event was perfect. Really entertaining”.

If you work for one of our partners, access the Eurapco eMag to watch the speakers’ presentations in full.

You can also download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Dirlene Lopez

Marketing and Communication Specialist