Philippe Donnet
Philippe Donnet (born 26 July 1960 in Suresnes, France) is a French business executive who has served as the CEO of the Italian company Assicurazioni Generali since March 2016. Education. Philippe Donnet graduated in 1983 from École Polytechnique and in 1991 from the Institut des Actuaires Français (IAF). Career. Early career. In 1983, Donnet began his executive career at Maisons Phoenix, a French contractor. He held different positions within the insurance sector until 1997 when he was appointed Deputy Managing Director of AXA Conseil. In 1999, Donnet was appointed CEO of AXA Assicurazioni, a position he held for  two years. In 2001 he was appointed Regional CEO responsible for the Mediterranean region, Middle East, Latin America and Canada. In 2002, Donnet was assigned the role of chairman and CEO of AXA Re as well as Chairman of AXA Corporate Solutions. Two years later Donnet was appointed CEO of Axa Japan and in 2006 he took on the role of CEO for the Asia-Pacific region. In 2007, he left the insurance sector for a period of six years to take on the position of Director for the Asia-Pacific region at Wendel Investissement, Singapore. In 2010, Donnet founded  HLD, an investment firm. Career at Generali. Donnet joined Generali in 2013 as Country Manager for Italy and CEO of Generali Italy. He will hold this role until 2016, leading the integration of five of Generali Group brands (Generali, Ina Assitalia, Toro, Lloyd Italico e Augusta). Since March 2016, Donnet has held the position of CEO of Generali Group. Donnet chairs the Group Management Committee (GMC), the committee which defines Generali's strategic guidelines (as of April 2017). In 2022, Generali’s outgoing board put forward Donnet for a third mandate as CEO. Ahead of a shareholder vote, Francesco Gaetano  Caltagirone and Leonardo Del Vecchio who are, respectively, Generali's second- and third-largest investors, proposed naming Luciano Cirina as its new chief executive, in a challenge to Donnet's reappointment. Donnet subsequently ended Cirina’s employment with immediate effect, citing breach of contract. Personal life. Donnet is a former rugby player and is the proprietor of one of the major French wood barrel manufacturers.