Personnel decisions are a regular occurrence at the end of the year. The cut-off date also leads to all kinds of changes on the management boards of multinationals. However, the reason given by Katja de la Viña for relinquishing the chairmanship of life insurer Allianz in Germany is not business as usual. It is a novelty in this constellation. In fact, it is revolutionary that Allianz not only accepts this reason as an employer, but supports it. A type of decision that was ruled out 20 years ago in such a top position is now not only conceivable. It will be feasible in the future. The consequences will be felt by many HR departments.

What has happened? De la Viña, who took up the post in 2022, wants to be there for her two children, who are roughly primary school age. She is therefore leaving the top job at an insurance company with annual premium income of more than 21 billion euros, and moving to a part-time position at Allianz.

At least that is the reason given in the press release. Caution is always called for when as private reasons are cited for a withdrawal. All sorts of alleged back ailments can vanish into thin air when the next top job beckons for worn-out managers. In this case, however, there is – after extensive research – no story behind the story. De la Viña simply wants to be involved in experiencing the life of her offspring.

This is however actually also an unfortunate situation for the insurer. A colossus like Allianz Life requires continuous leadership, especially as Viña's predecessor was promoted to the Allianz SE Board of Management after a comparatively short time. It is also legitimate to ask why Viña's preference was not already clear to her when she took the job in 2021. The usual reaction of a Dax-listed company like Allianz would have been: Okay, we have to accept it, but that's the end of the employee's career within the company.

The insurer chose a different approach. The idea is that if we encourage women to take on positions of responsibility, we have to accept that at a certain stage in the family – perhaps to the parent's own surprise – it won't be a good fit after all. We won't react in a huff, but look for a way out. When the next phase comes for the women (or men), we will once again have an outstanding manager.

Many managers in German companies, whether male or female, will ask the question in the future: If Allianz can do this, why can't my employer? Modern personnel management has to adapt to this.