ALLIANZ announced that it has named Bart SCHLATMANN as CEO of its European direct business. He will assume his new responsibilities starting September 1, 2018.

Bart SCHLATMANN joins ALLIANZ from Russia's Sberbank, where he served as Chief Transformation Officer - CTO, responsible for the digital overhaul of client services.

Before that, he worked at the ING Group for 22 years, spending his last 10 years there as Chief Operating Officer of ING Netherlands.

Bart SCHLATMANN will report to Ivan de la SOTA, Board Member and Chief Business Transformation Officer of ALLIANZ SE.

"I am thrilled that a leader like Bart will join our Allianz team," said Ivan de la SOTA. "His proven track record in helping businesses transform into digital players with a clear focus on simplicity and agility for the benefit of customers makes him the perfect fit for this role."