Saad Mered is the Middle East chief executive officer of Zurich Insurance Company and now holds the reigns at Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances (CLA), after Zurich Insurance completed the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2010. He recently gave EXECUTIVE his thoughts on the local market and why Zurich Insurance is breaking into the Middle East. Why did you feel that Lebanon was the next country to add to your Middle East presence? Compagnie LibanaiseD’Assurances is headquartered in Lebanon and has branch operations in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait. So, for us, the acquisition is much more than adding another country to our Middle East presence. Our strategic aim is to be the leading multinational insurer in the Middle East; the acquisition of CLA is a key stepping-stone towards realizing this goal. What is your assessment of the maturity of the Lebanese insurance sector and market? Lebanon has one
