Meanwhile, Venice is basking in sunshine, drawing visitors eager to embrace the arrival of spring.

A similar sense of renewal can be felt within Generali’s top management. On Thursday, the international insurer and asset manager unveiled its 2025–2027 strategy in the iconic lagoon city. Dubbed «Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence», the plan was presented with confidence. Group CEO Philippe Donnet made his stance clear: «Generali is stronger than ever.»

The goals are ambitious: The Generali management team at the Investor Day in Venice. (Image: zVg)

More than 7 Billion Euros for Shareholders

Shareholders should be particularly pleased about this. Generali plans to return more than €7 billion to them by 2027 through dividends and share buybacks.

The buybacks alone are expected to amount to at least €1.5 billion, including the €500 million in the current year.

Earnings per share are to be increased by 8 to 10 percent annually and net cash flow is to break through the €11 billion barrier.

Collaboration with MIT on AI

In addition to the financial promises, the other goals sound unsurprising. Artificial intelligence should make the company more agile. For this reason, Generali recently entered into a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT.

The company is also striving for customer excellence and swears by its unique corporate culture. The Italians also want to be a reliable partner to the Italian state and the EU when it comes to sustainability.

«True, none of this sounds surprising. But it is the logical continuation of our success story and growth to date,» CFO Cristiano Borean told  finews.ch on the sidelines of the investor conference.

Generali CFO Cristiano Borean. (Image: zVg)

Switzerland Must Become more Profitable

Switzerland is under great pressure. Generali has struggled with problems in this country in recent years, particularly in the life insurance business, and has lost market share.

Borean does ot want to gloss over this. «The Swiss business must become more profitable and even better positioned,» he said.

The insurer has strengthened the Swiss business financially. Now the turnaround is to come. «Those who invest heavily can also expect something,» Borean makes clear.

Sales Are Being Expanded

The Milanese are prepared to dig into their pockets again to achieve this. The expansion of sales is a done deal. New employees are currently being eagerly sought. Generali cannot and does not want to communicate exact figures. This is a dynamic process, they say.

This makes sense insofar as the Italian insurer is focusing heavily on training the next generation of employees. They are also to be provided with new, attractive products that run on new, group-wide IT platforms.

There is no doubt – Milan is now determined to achieve profitable growth in Switzerland.

«If you want to be one of the leading players in Europe, you also have to be strong in Switzerland and play a significant role. The Swiss financial center will continue to play a central role in the future», Borean is convinced.

Joint Venture Meets with Skepticism

Borean is also targeting asset management. Generali announced ten days ago that it intends to join forces with Natixis from France in asset management as part of a joint venture. This would make the new company one of the largest in Europe.

The deal is not yet done, as the Italian government still has to give its approval. And a great deal of persuastion, as was evident at the investor day in Venice. In Italy in particular, the venture is being met with skepticism. There are fears that Generali will become a pawn of the French. «We set the goals, the new unit will implement them. We are not relinquishing control,» emphasized Donnet with a smile.