Swiss Re has announced Thierry Léger will be Group Chief Underwriting Officer on September 1, taking over from Edi Schmid, who has decided to step down for personal reasons but will still have an advisory role with the business.

Mr Leger is presently CEO of the reinsurer’s Life Capital Business Unit, which combines its ReAssure, elipsLife and iptiQ businesses, since its creation in January 2016.

Swiss Re says the Life Capital Business Unit will be disbanded when the sale of ReAssure to Phoenix Group Holdings is completed in the third quarter.

In other changes, white-labelling digital insurance platform iptiQ will become a standalone division and report directly to Group CEO Christian Mumenthaler from January.

“The changes will position Swiss Re well for the next chapter of the group’s strategic development,” Mr Mumenthaler said. “Having grown dynamically over the past years, iptiQ is on track to becoming a leading player in its field.”