2021 Women to Watch Awards Americas EMEA
Jenny Sillén Österman CEO, AIG Sweden, part of AIG Europe S.A.
American International Group Inc
Stockholm
Jenny Sillén Österman was studying finance and business administration at the Stockholm School of Economics in 1990 when Skandia, which is now If P&C Insurance Co., asked for a student from the school to help it develop key ratios to evaluate what the insurer regarded as its most important asset — its employees. Ms. Österman was intrigued that a company recognized that by developing its people it could increase its value. When Skandia asked if she was interested in a business analyst role in the finance department, she said yes.
Since that start in insurance, Ms. Österman has worked in many different roles and in multiple countries.
“I never really had a career goal. I just focused on doing my best in the role I was in and being open to new opportunities as they arise,” Ms. Österman said. That approach has advanced her into roles she either didn’t know existed or she didn’t think she would be able to handle, she said.
A secondment to RSA Group PLC in Rotterdam led to a move in 1997 to work as an underwriter in the London market. From there, Ms. Österman helped to facilitate knowledge-sharing throughout RSA, which had been formed by the merger of Royal Insurance and Sun Alliance in 1996. Roles in risk management and mergers and acquisitions followed.
After returning to Sweden for family reasons, in 2014 Ms. Österman joined American International Group Inc. as chief financial officer of its Swedish branch and was soon promoted to CFO of the Nordic operation. Earlier this year she was promoted to CEO of AIG Sweden.
Rasmus Nygard, chief underwriting officer at Allianz SE, who hired her into AIG, said Ms. Österman is a strong leader who assumes responsibilities beyond her role, thereby inspiring others to think more broadly. “She likes to lead, to step forward and she’s not afraid of doing so,” he said.
Ms. Österman says that taking advantage of opportunities, even those outside her confidence zone, is one of the keys to her success. “Considering how shy I was as a child I’m surprised that I still do that,” she said.
