Biznes Fakty
Andrzej Klesyk is the new president of PZU. KNF has given its consent
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority has unanimously endorsed the appointment of Andrzej Klesyk as the president of Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń SA, as stated in an announcement. Klesyk previously occupied this role from 2007 to 2015.
On January 21, 2025, Klesyk joined the PZU Supervisory Board; at the end of January, the Supervisory Board of PZU assigned him the responsibilities of President of the PZU Management Board, pending approval from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. At that time, the incumbent President Artur Olech was removed from the Management Board. Klesyk was appointed to temporarily fulfill the duties until a new President of the Management Board was selected.
Profile of the new president of PZU
Klesyk is an alumnus of the Catholic University of Lublin, where he studied at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and he holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has also participated in overseas training related to finance and management, including global programs for partners and managing directors at The Boston Consulting Group.
The PZU Group mentions on its website that Klesyk started his professional journey as an assistant at the Catholic University of Lublin from 1989 to 1991. From April 1990 to January 1991, he worked as an assistant advisor to the minister at the Ministry of Ownership Transformations. Between January and August 1991, he was a researcher at Kidder, Peabody Company and Coopers & Lybrand in New York.
From February to December 2000, Klesyk served as the president of Inteligo Financial Services SA, and from December 2000 to February 2003, he was a member of the management board of Bankgesellschaft Berlin (Polska) SA. Between April 2003 and December 2007, he held the position of partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group in Warsaw, where he collaborated with PZU on insurance projects focused on claims settlement, direct insurance, assistance, and corporate governance and relations within the PZU Group.
Andrzej Klesyk led PZU from December 2007. During this tenure, he was responsible for overseeing the company and the PZU Group. He stepped down as CEO in early December 2015 following the rise of the PiS party to power. During his leadership, he resolved a conflict between the Ministry of the State Treasury and Eureko regarding PZU’s privatization in 2009, which allowed the State Treasury to avoid paying out billions in compensation, paving the way for PZU’s public offering. In May 2010, PZU shares made their debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The Capital Group of Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń SA stands as the largest financial institution in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. The Group comprises nearly 100 entities, including companies and funds. Besides PZU and PZU Życie, the group consists of Bank Pekao and Alior Bank, as well as Link 4.
Merger of PZU and Pekao
The Group is led by PZU, a publicly traded company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2010. The PZU Group manages around PLN 300 billion in assets and serves 22 million customers across five countries. The State Treasury holds 34.2 percent of shares in PZU.
In early June of this year, PZU and Bank Pekao entered into a memorandum of understanding to explore a potential merger transaction by June 30, 2026. According to the companies, the proposed transaction involves splitting PZU into a holding company and an operating company, subsequently merging the former into Bank Pekao.
The primary objectives include simplifying the group structure, enhancing bancassurance efficiency, and realizing revenue synergies. The companies anticipate that the prospective transaction, pending several conditions and necessary approvals, could free up a capital surplus of up to PLN 20 billion.
