Diekmann to step down as Allianz chief executive

Allianz, the German insurer that owns US fund manager Pimco, said yesterday that chief executive Michael Diekmann will step down next year.

Mr Diekmann will be succeeded by Oliver Bäte, head of Allianz’s western and southern European units and a former chief financial officer, from next May after the German insurer’s 2015 annual general meeting.

Clement Booth, who is responsible for Allianz's US business, is also stepping down as part of the management shake-up.

The change at the top of the German financial conglomerate comes amid the turmoil at Pimco after founder Bill Gross left for rival Janus Capital last month.

Investors withdrew $23.5 billion from the US fund manager’s flagship Total Return bond fund in September, including a sharp rise in redemptions following Mr Gross’s decision to walk out on the company three days before the end of the month.

In a statement the Munich-based group said: “The supervisory board of Allianz today agreed to the request of Michael Diekmann and Clement Booth to not further extend their respective board appointments beyond the age limit of 60.”

Mr Diekmann is 59 and Mr Booth is 60.

Helmut Perlet, Allianz’s supervisory board chairman, said Mr Diekmann had “decisively shaped and developed the company” and that he would be asked to seek election to the supervisory board at the annual meeting in 2017. – Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2014