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PORTRAIT
ANDREAS SCHÖNHERR
Head of Global Finance Solutions at Zurich Financial Services
What did you aspire to be when you were a child
I always wanted to be a tax adviser. A good friend of the family was a
tax adviser and he made a lot of money just giving advice. I found that
impressive. At university I found out that there is more to it than you can
see from the outside.
What is/are the highlight(s) of your current role
It is a truly global role. We are currently managing projects in Europe,
Latin America, and Asia Pacific and my team is a truly global one. This is
really inspiring.
In which role do you think you work best
In my current role, as it is the perfect mix between business, process and
technology transformation as well as multicultural challenges.
What was your biggest transformation What did you learn
Early in my career I once had a transformation project in Saudi Arabia.
There I have learned that it is not about your technical knowledge but
about your emotional competences.
Which countries have you worked in and in which country would
you like to work Why
I worked in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the USA and in most European
countries. Being based in Switzerland is the best thing I can think of due
to the combination of urban life and fantastic nature so close by. For me
the only alternative offering the same advantages would be Vancouver.
What do you think are the three most important factors for being
successful in life
- being honest and being yourself
- thinking ahead
- being emotional
From which failure have you learned the most
I once tried a half marathon unprepared and it was the most unpleasant
experience I ever had. My learnings for my business life: don’t overestimate
yourself, set yourself clear goals and work towards them, otherwise
you will fail or it will at least be very unpleasant.
What are the three most important virtues of a superior
Listen, understand, act
What qualities do you appreciate most in your employees
Openness, own ideas and a drive to put them into action. Passion!
In which area did you train yourself recently
Solvency II (one of the technical areas where our industry needs transformation
in order to adapt to a new way of thinking) as well as some
self-study in the Scrum framework.

What annoys you most in your daily role And what do you do
about it
The amount of emails every morning in my inbox and being in meetings
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. I try to delegate but I could do this much more… if I
had the time to do so.
How do you balance between work and life
An early morning run at the lake side with a view of the snowcapped
Swiss alps is the best start into the day. The smile of my son when I come
home from work early is a good ending (before I hit the emails again…)
What do you consider your biggest virtue And your biggest vice
I truly and honestly care for my people, but I can be impatient when it
comes to delivering results.
Which personal goals would you still like to achieve
To finish the K78, a run in the Swiss mountains over 78 km and two
alpine passes. But don’t tell my wife!
About Andreas Schönherr
Andreas Schönherr is the Head of Global Finance Solutions at Zurich Financial Services (ZFS),
based in Zurich. His current responsibilities include the development and implementation of a
Global Finance Solution to enable the Group to efficiently deal with regulatory requirements like
Solvency II and IFRS IV Phase 2. Additionally, his team is globally responsible for major Finance
Transformation Projects and Initiatives at Zurich Financial Services.
Andreas Schönherr started his career with Ernst & Young and Atos Origin Middle East in Audit and
Consulting Functions. Before he joined ZFS, he worked for Allianz Global Investors being responsible
for Strategic Information Management in Finance with assignments all over Europe, Asia and
the US. In 2007, Andreas joined ZFS as Project Manager and had various assignments including
his most recent role as Head of Finance IT Strategy.
Andreas is a graduate of Business Economics (University of Saarland, Germany) and holds professional
certifications in Project- and Portfolio Management and Auditing.
He lives with his wife and his 20-month-old son in Zurich, Switzerland.
Contact: andreas.schoenherr[at]zurich.com