Recently, the Shandong Financial Regulatory Bureau announced its approval of Jürgen Peter Schmitz's (Si Yongming) appointment as Chairman of德华安顾人寿，marking the first foreign-born chairman in the company's history.
Appointed interim chairman at the beginning of the year, previously responsible for European and Asian operations.
德华安顾 Life Insurance was established in 2013. It is a Sino-foreign joint venture. Shandong State-owned Assets Investment Holding Co., Ltd. (the Chinese shareholder) holds 35% of the shares, while the foreign shareholders include Allianz Group (35%) and Allianz Life Germany (30%).
According to the official website, newly appointed Chairman Si Yongming was born in 1971. He has served as Vice Chairman of DH-AXA Life since 5 2013, and as Acting Chairman since 1 2026.
Prior to joining the company in China, from 2010 to 2017, Si Yongming served as a member of the AXA International Board of Directors, overseeing operations across numerous countries and regions in Europe and Asia.
Early in his career, Si Yongming served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of AIG Turkey and led several business units at AIG Germany. Prior to joining AIG, he worked at McKinsey & Company, serving clients in the banking and insurance sectors.
According to Zhao Hua An Gu Life Insurance's announcement in 1 this year, the company has completed its board of directors' term renewal. Si Yongming now serves as Chairman of the Fifth Board of Directors, with his appointment taking effect upon approval by the Shandong Financial Regulatory Bureau and formal company appointment. Shi Fenglei is no longer serving as Chairman of the Board.
Shi Fenglei has served as Chairman of德华安顾人寿 for over 10 years, having held the position of Director since 1 of 2026.
First-half earnings reached 1.1 billion yuan, breaking the 50-50 equity structure of domestic joint venture life insurers.
Deutsche Annington Life Insurance welcomes its first foreign chairman, a move closely tied to China's recent efforts to expand financial opening-up.
In 2019, the Office of the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council issued "Measures to Further Expand the Opening Up of the Financial Industry," advancing the transition period for lifting foreign equity restrictions on life insurance from 51% to 100% to 2020.
This means that since 2020, regulations have removed the foreign ownership cap for joint-venture life insurers, allowing foreign equity to reach up to 100%.
In 2023 8, with regulatory approval, Shandong State-owned Assets Investment Holding Co., Ltd. transferred its 15% stake in德华安顾人寿 (Dewar AXA Life Insurance) to the Allianz Group. As a result, Allianz Group and its affiliated entities increased their combined ownership stake in 德华安顾人寿 from 50% to 65%, breaking the typical 50/50 equity structure common among joint-venture life insurers in China.
According to the Q2 2026 Solvency Report of德华安顾人寿, insurance revenue in the first half of this year was approximately 22.2 billion yuan, net profit was approximately 1.1 billion yuan, and total assets were approximately 110.54 billion yuan.
