Swiss Re’s group chief risk officer Patrick Raaflaub will retire at the end of September 2025 after a 25-year stint at the company. Credit: MacroEcon/Shutterstock.

Swiss Re has named Kera McDonald as its new group chief underwriting officer, effective 1 June 2025. 

The appointment is pending regulatory approval.  

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With more than 30 years of experience, McDonald is currently serving as chief underwriting officer at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.  

Having joined Swiss Re in 2006, she served in various specialist and leadership positions during her tenure.  

Since July 2019, she has been a member of the corporate solutions executive committee and ascended to the role of chief underwriting officer for the business unit in 2022.  

McDonald has been tasked with enhancing underwriting throughout Swiss Re’s business units, overseeing the allocation of group capacity, setting mid-term underwriting goals and approving “complex transactions”. 

Swiss Re group CEO Andreas Berger said: “As the chief underwriting officer for corporate solutions, Kera has been instrumental in improving costing accuracy and significantly enhancing portfolio management discipline and processes. I am very pleased to welcome Kera to Swiss Re’s Group Executive Committee in this new role.”

Meanwhile, Swiss Re’s group chief risk officer, Patrick Raaflaub, will retire at the end of September 2025 after a 25-year stint at the company.  

Raaflaub’s tenure at Swiss Re began in 1994. He has held various leadership roles in finance and capital Management.  

In 2008, he took on the role of CEO of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority before returning to Swiss Re in 2014 as group chief risk officer and group executive committee member.  

The process to find Raaflaub’s successor is currently under way, with an announcement expected in “due course”.  

Berger added: “It has been a privilege to serve on the Group Executive Committee with Patrick over the past years. As the group chief risk officer, he has successfully driven an integrated approach to managing current and emerging risks across the company. On behalf of the entire executive team, I would like to wish him all the best for the future.” 

Last month, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, along with Floodbase, developed a new parametric insurance solution, which was launched by Aon.