About

Deemed as one of the most significant players in the global insurance and financial products market, Assicurazioni Generali is the largest Italian insurance company in Italy and third largest in the world. Possessing an equally imposing legal team, Generali has a vast network of lawyers composed of general counsel and compliance teams around the world. Together they have a mission to, ‘protect and enhance our business, setting the pace of change every day as a world-class team, accountable and proactive in providing reliable counsel in all legal and compliance matters’, says group general counsel Antonio Cangeri. With approximately 840 people within the international team, the most senior lawyers in Italy who report directly to Cangeri include group compliance officer Maurizio Basso, group supervisory affairs and international, Massimiliano Pagliai and group legal affairs Stefania Bergamo. Within Generali’s business units, Cristina Rustignoli serves as the country Italy general counsel amongst other general counsel dispersed in the other European countries where Generali is based – all who directly report into Cangeri. The legal team’s focus is on strengthening the interaction between head office and business units and empowering the team to promote cooperation with the business: ‘I am personally and strongly committed every day to empower our people at all levels to be able to achieve our common goals and work together as a unique family being able to cooperate regardless the different roles and departments with the aim of improving synergies and creating a cohesive and accessible working environment’, explains Cangeri. The team regularly takes part in development programmes created to develop technical, managerial and linguistic skills, as well as leadership and team skills. In the area of transactions, the legal team regularly assists in the implementation of the M&A transactions of the Generali Group (including, among others, the sale of 11 subsidiaries carried out between 2018 and 2019 and the recent acquisitions in Slovenia and Portugal). Additionally it has provided assistance on the establishment of health service companies and a range of long-term partnerships in Europe, most notable the expansion of Vitality across Europe, the set-up of Welion in Italy and the development of Generali Health Services in Germany.