Allianz Trade, a trade credit insurance provider operating in over 40 countries, has announced a leadership transition within its reinsurance division.
According to a news release, Benoît des Cressonnières (pictured, left), the company’s global head of reinsurance and CEO of Euler Hermes Reinsurance AG, is set to retire on September 30, 2025. In line with this, Philippe Dessèvre (pictured, right), currently chief financial officer (CFO) of Allianz Trade in DACH, will be succeeding him effective Oct. 1, 2025. The appointment remains subject to regulatory approval.
Cressonnières has held various leadership roles at Allianz Trade since joining in 1997 as CFO for the company’s Belgian operations. Between 2000 and 2007, he served as director of reinsurance and investor relations and corporate secretary at the company’s Paris headquarters. He then transitioned into his current role, overseeing reinsurance operations from Zurich. Additionally, he has been a member of the Allianz Group Reinsurance Office’s managing committee and served as vice president and later president of the International Credit Insurance & Surety Association (ICISA) over the past four years.
Dessèvre has been with Allianz Trade since 2000, beginning his tenure as head of financial control in France. He subsequently took on multiple leadership roles, including CFO/COO of Allianz Trade Multinationals and Allianz Trade in France. Between 2016 and 2021, he served as group chief risk officer before assuming his current position as CFO of Allianz Trade in DACH in 2022.
Allianz Trade, headquartered in Paris, specializes in surety, collections, structured trade credit, and political risk.
The company’s leadership transition comes as the European reinsurance market sees increased focus on climate risk mitigation. According to an article from Beinsure, a joint paper from the European Central Bank and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority has proposed a public-private reinsurance scheme to address growing financial losses from natural catastrophes. The initiative aims to improve insurers’ financial stability and close the insurance protection gap for natural disasters.
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