Constantinescu is the man who developed the largest company on the local insurance market, Allianz-Tiriac, from the ground up. He owns about 3% in the insurer, which is now second on the market after Astra, with EUR250 million in gross premiums underwritten.
At stake are four positions – one chairman, two vice-chairmen and a member of the commission’s board. The terms of the chairwoman in office, Angela Toncescu, of the two vice-chairmen, Constantin Buzoianu and Tudor Balta, as well as of board member Corneliu Moldoveanu, are due to expire at the end of the month.
The Insurance Supervisory Commission’s board includes three more members, whose terms are not due to expire yet: Albin Biro (term expires 2012), Dan Constantinescu (2015) and Daniela Popa (2015).
The candidates for a position on the commission’s board will be heard by the joint Budget-Finance Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies; the future management team is subject to voting by the Parliament.
Angela Toncescu, 58, was nominated for the position of chairwoman of the commission in 2006, backed by the National Liberal Party (PNL). She had previously been chief executive of RAI Asigurari and chairwoman of the board of Asirom. She was supposed to be backed by the democratic-liberals and by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) for a new term, but the former decided yesterday to nominate Cristian Constantinescu for the position instead. Constantinescu is currently the head of the insurers’ association UNSAR.
The names mentioned in connection to the top position of the Insurance Supervisory Commission also included Violeta Ciurel, who took the reins of French AXA group’s local branch last year and said she was not running for the position and Mihai Tecau, the current CEO of BCR Asigurari, who was the commission’s secretary general until 2006.
The most powerful rival for Constantinescu, who had supporters within PDL as well, was Constantin Toma, CEO of Omniasig and one of the most powerful executives in the industry.
Constantin Buzoianu, whose vice-chairman term expires at the end of the month, will, in all likelihood, not have it renewed. Dan Constantinescu (backed by the liberals), whose term was renewed until 2015, will be promoted to vice-chairman. The other vice-chairman whose term expires, Tudor Balta, is backed for the position by the party he is a member of, the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), market sources said.
Corneliu Moldoveanu, whose term as a member of the commission’s board started in 2004 and ends this month, was backed by the Greater Romania Party in 2006. With this party having failed to make it into the Parliament, Moldoveanu’s position will most likely go to another party.