The Leadership Team

Olivier is a serial entrepreneur. He bought out La Parisienne Assurances 20 years ago, and has totally transformed the firm since 2015, bringing it to the bleeding edge of the industry, with a culture that truly stands out in the world of insurance.

Taking his remit as CEO seriously, Olivier has also brought a lively dynamic to Wakam, having engineered its Mission-Driven Business status awarded in 2021. He wrote and published Patrimoine Ephémère (“pop-up heritage”) to propound his vision of insurance as the means to safeguard economic and social stability in society.

Buoyed by new technology, especially Blockchains, Olivier is also Chief Product Officer and de facto top cat on his Play & Plug platform.

His favourite saying is “Success is 10% strategy and 90 % execution”. Olivier loves music and will readily share his mixes!

Catherine keeps to the beat in insurance!

She boasts a long career in insurance, setting the pace for 10 years at Aviva, another 10 at Generali, and 11 at La Banque Postale, managing and transforming organizations.

As Deputy CEO at Wakam, Catherine steers Wakam alongside Olivier Jaillon, handling its daily business, leveraging her vast experience in development for life insurance for the group.

If she hadn’t made her way in insurance, Catherine would have loved to be a dancer, it’s what makes her tick!

Franck did not initially set out to work in insurance: it was the amazing meeting of minds with amazing men and women that led him here.

After a challenging stint in the French navy, and various entrepreneurial adventures, he worked at McKinsey for several years before moving on to Allianz (Allianz France and Allianz Partners), and lastly Wakam. The one thing all these experiences have had in common is humanity, challenge and team spirit.

At Wakam, Franck steers a vast European team working in sales, marketing, products, project teams to support the implementation of partnerships and the Mission-Driven Business!

Franck loves surfing, taking to the waves at exactly the right moment and riding to transform them into opportunities. You’ll see Franck on the coast, especially in cold waters in Brittany. Yup, he loves a challenge!

Karl Gray is VP Chief Underwriting Officer at Wakam, a newly created position that will bring together pricing, reserving, underwriting, product, audit and claims and will focus on technical discipline and portfolio management. He is based in London, UK.

Karl was most recently the EMEA Director for Uber’s Insurance division – leading the development of new products and managing existing insurance programs – and prior to that was the Global Head of Retail Underwriting for the Zurich Insurance Group.

Karl has over twenty years of Global Leadership within the Insurance Sector with more than 10 years based in international Markets.  He has successfully developed and executed strategy and change across multiple geographies, with specific expertise in fast flow insurance, underwriting automation, digital insurance solutions and portfolio management.

Karl Gray graduated from the University of Sheffield (UK) with an MA in Political Economy and holds Diplomas in Management and Insurance.  Karl was a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Mobility between 2017 to 2021.

His name is Morillon, Alexandre Morillon. His mission: launching and developing the life insurance business at Wakam.

Alexandre had already taken up all sorts of challenges in insurance in his role as Vice-President for Life Insurance at La Banque Postale as well as during the 20 years he worked in Marketing, Digital and Distribution in other industries.

He brings his expert knowledge of insurance to Wakam, especially life and digital insurance to create the Life Insurance Division, which embraces credit insurance, providence and health insurance, in France and Europe, with a license to move fast.

As a fan of James Bond and his cars, Alexandre also loves 80s music and vintage artefacts: nostalgia rocks!

Clément is team lead – for serious teams in charge of legal matters, compliance and internal auditing.

He also steers strategic projects, with one eye of corporate communication and public relations, all of which bathes in a very European environment. Clément started out working at the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR), heading up teams that monitored banks and insurance companies. After an entrepreneurial experience in fintech, he started working as a consultant for the Chair of the Finance Committee at the French parliament for two very exciting years.

If Clément doesn’t have his nose in a book, the book won’t be far away, it’s his guilty pleasure!

Raphaël is a true captain of finance, having started out as a auditor at EY, then moving on to CFO France at Axa Assistance, and lastly CFO France at Europ Assistance and a member of the executive committee. He specializes in steering role transformation and change management.

This experience, coupled with his in-depth knowledge of financial issues in the insurance industry, means he can work on developing Wakam according to a profitable, high-growth trajectory.

Other than that, Raphaël is a true foodie and loves to watch Top Chef with his family!

Sébastien is the mountaineer hitting the peaks in technology. He boasts years of experience in IT consulting first at Wavestone then in financial services for Accenture, meaning he has forged a body of expert knowledge in IT strategy, Agile transformation, design and roll-out of digital platforms and API, for CAC 40-listed companies.

Won over by Wakam’s bright and bonny project, he signed up for an expedition with the end goal of developing a tech nugget undergoing transformation with every sprint.

As a committed leader, Sébastien is kind but firm. He loves the mountains (as you’d already guessed) and playing pop-rock on his guitar

Aurélien always works in a team and with the people around him.

As captain of the People & Culture team, Aurélien’s mission is to support Wakam’s strong ambitions in terms of recruitment, culture and talent management in France and Europe.

Aurélien has spent the last 10 years working for tech companies such as the American group Palantir.

He knows how to find clever and original solutions to the complex challenges of talent management. Aurélien has also worked on fast growing companies in a very international context.

Aurélien is passionate about Human Resources issues. This is why he is also a lecturer at the X Polytechnique and HEC schools.

Denis has explored many different industries.

He spent 15 years in the world of contract catering, in managerial and financial positions, and gained insight into a client-oriented culture. He then spent seven years in direct contact with partners as Chief Revenue Officer at Wakam.

His compelling knowledge of insurance and his kindly nature are Denis’s strong points now that he has moved to the role of Chief Mission Officer at Wakam.

“Pura Vida” is his mantra. Whenever he gets the chance, he sets out on adventures, taking photographs of nature in Costa Rica!

With maths as his strong suit, Daniel first kicked off his career at the French Insurance Federation then took on the role of Director of Actuarial Services at Aréas Assurances. At Wakam he has worked in several capacities, heading up the Technical Department, Reinsurance, Risk and Products, meaning he has the best possible handle on the value chain in insurance!

Alongside the Product team, he now tailors insurance products according to Wakam’s unique Bespoke method.

In private, Daniel is both a music lover and musician, playing jazz and improvising, deploying his very special technical knowledge, just like at work.

Eric is top cat at Wakam, having fashioned the brand and driving its growth by communicating and marketing the firm’s valuable assets.

His previous experiences include a host of other projects, at Axa Partners and Bouygues Telecom. That’s right; he’s the one who set up online medical appointments and the famous limited plan targeting youngsters known as “Jeunes et Limités”!

Ever brimming with motivation, Eric also boasts boundless energy which he channels into skiing during his free time. You might well spot him speeding down slopes or chilling out in Megève!

Claire loves number crunching and dealing in probabilities, and has been crowned the queen of the rule of three!

After a 7-year stint at L’Equité, she took part in the launch of La Banque Postale assurance IARD before coming to join in the Wakam adventure.

Heading up the Technical Department, she manages the ever-growing profitability and reserving team and the life of production partners has no secrets from her.

Claire grew up in sunny Occitania before hitting Paris, although you’d never believe from her accent!

Managing claims and contracts, in short, handling Operations, is Alexis’s daily challenge!

This consists in steering and auditing Wakam’s partners’ operations, setting up management infrastructure throughout Europe to be able to tackle issues such as how to handle claims involving cats and dogs in Sweden?

Drawing on a wealth of experience gleaned at Europ Assistance and while consulting for Boston Consulting Group, Alexis has an all-round vision of Operations.

Alexis is a fervent cyclist. Just don’t get him started on the subject unless you want to hear every last detail of the ins and outs and ups and downs of city vs. mountain bikes!

Act 1: Amandine spent 15 years on the dark side (aka banking). She worked in the General Inspection unit, was promoted to Sales Director for a network of branches, and ended up as Chief of Staff for a member of the Société Générale Executive Committee.

Act 2: As a firm believer in crypto-currency, she then embarked on an entrepreneurial adventure acting as a consultant for investment funds in this industry.

Act 3: At Wakam, Amandine assists Olivier Jaillon in the roll-out of strategic projects.

Amandine is a specialist in both classic and contemporary theatre, since theatre-going is one of her favorite pastimes!

Aurélie is always ready with a quick answer when it comes to creating life insurance.

What does she bring to the ring? Her experience and her ability to define the guarantees and pricing of insurance products.

She started her career at BNP Paribas Cardif as a Portfolio Manager for Individual Protection and Loan Insurance before joining HSBC Insurance, where she was in charge of actuarial services. Then she worked on the implementation and organisation of the risk management system as Director of Risk and Actuarial Services in the Insurance Division at La Banque Postale.

She joined Wakam at the Olympic level, becoming Chief Life Product & Pricing Officer. Her sound experience and tenacity allow her to develop innovative Life products that stand out from the crowd.

Aurélie is great with numbers! A word of advice: Don’t pester her too much about statistics if you don’t want her to wipe the floor with you!

Brand: Wakam
Model: Chief Legal Officer
Mileage: 22 years of experience

Description: Cédrick expertly pilots Wakam’s legal team, which covers complex and varied circuits in more than 32 European countries with specific legislation. He started out working in business-oriented environments and on B2B2C and B2B2B issues with insurance and non-insurance specialists at Genworth and then Asurion. White label and pan-European deals are his favourite racetracks.

What sets him apart from his competitors is undoubtedly his interpersonal skills and his discretion, coupled with his ability to do and deliver.

Bonus: A dyed-in-the-wool fan of motorsports, Cédrick is as fast and dynamic as a Formula 1 car.

Olivier is a professional runner; he has done marathons and more than one!

His track record?

A sprint with AXA Group. He finished this race around the globe leading a team of more than 30 people. His goal was to comply with the requirements of the European Solvency II directive applicable to internal audit.

And he didn’t stop there, Olivier took up another challenge and spent 9 years at HSBC before joining Wakam. He was leading a team of auditors navigating between Paris and London.

Today, Olivier wears the colours of Wakam and is Head of Internal Audit and Supervisory Relations. He is responsible for structuring and managing the whole Internal Audit function within Wakam.