Francis Bouchard appointed Head of the Climate Office

Zurich, April 22, 2009 – Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) announces the appointment of Francis Bouchard (43, U.S. citizen) as Head of the Climate Office, effective May 1, 2009. He will succeed Mike Kerner, who has recently been appointed to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Corporate in North America. In this position, Mr. Bouchard will work closely with Zurich's Proposition Development function to institutionalize the Group’s climate-related expertise across the organization, thereby accelerating the development of new products for Zurich’s customers.

Mr. Bouchard, who will maintain his current role as Zurich’s Global Head of Corporate Communications, has extensive experience in the type of government and policy thought leadership activities that are critical to developing the marketplace for climate-related products. Mr. Bouchard joined Zurich in 1998 as Vice President of Federal Affairs in the United States. In 2005, he was appointed Head of Government Affairs for the General Insurance platform followed by his appointment of Global Head of Corporate Communications in the same year.