When do you carve out time for yourself?

Riding my bike. It allows me to clear my mind – but also to consider specific questions in depth and in peace.

What is your favorite ritual?

It may sound a little strange, but I find it relaxing to open my physical mail on weekends, to sift through the letters and make my administration (laughs). In the advent season it was a great pleasure with all the Christmas cards.

How do you keep fit? 

I exercise ten minutes every morning and I ride my bike as often as I can. I also try to eat as healthily as possible.

How do you reward yourself?

A nice trip together with my wife and my two grown-up daughthers.

Where (how) do you learn?

By nature I'm very curious and try to be open for different ideas and viewpoints. It is important to listen, my colleagues have valuable know-how, I learn incredibly much in doing so. And I try to read as many books about topics such as futurology, innovation, history and philosophy.

Gert De Winter, a citizen of Belgium, has been CEO of Baloise insurance company since 2016. The five-question interview with De Winter is the first in a series of short interviews with executives and managers from the business world and society at large.