Suzan

It’s not often people successfully transition from a corporate function like Human Resources into business operations. Chief Claims Officer Global Life Suzan van de Kerk has not only done that but she has made the journey from the Australian business to the Corporate Center, worked in both the General and Life Insurance areas, and moved into senior management while doing it.

This is a measure of Suzan’s own skills and abilities but also of Zurich’s willingness to create interesting career paths for people wherever they are in the organisation.

Originally from the Netherlands, Suzan studied law. Her first job at PricewaterhouseCoopers took her to Australia where, in 2000, she was hired as HR Compensation Manager by the Australian business. She then moved into a Sydney-based, Asia Pacific regional role in Human Resources before moving to Zurich in 2004 and into the role of Compensation Specialist. Her experience in business operations included four years in General Insurance in Claims and she has now been with Global Life for three years.

In the Global Life role, Suzan says, "I help the business deliver to customers by motivating and engaging our claims people to deliver the best claims service and setting high technical and service standards. Through connecting with people we learn from the best and continuously improve how we deliver on our promise to our customers".

She is now quite settled in Switzerland with her husband and two daughters but has never forgotten her Sydney office experience: “I love to visit Australia and still join Jump Ups on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with my former manager when I am back in Sydney”.