Denis Kessler, emblematic chairman of the reinsurer Scor since 2002, died on Friday at the age of 71, the group announced. Genius for some, tyrant for others, this former professor of social sciences became in 1990 president of the French Federation of Insurance Companies. Mulhousien passed by HEC, he chaired from 1998 to 2002 the economic commission of the National Council of French Employers (CNPF), now Medef, before becoming the number 2 from 1998 to 2002.
Portrayed by the press as ultraliberal, Denis Kessler - who preferred to define himself as "ultra-free" - fought against the 35-hour week. Calling himself "profoundly European", he was close to the CFDT, and in particular to Nicole Notat whom he rubbed shoulders when he was number 2 of the Medef.
"Brilliant, sometimes unbearable"
The former president of the Medef Laurence Parisot hailed on Twitter "a genius, thunderous, brilliant, sometimes unbearable, creative like nobody, and who has brought so many ideas to the companies and economy of our country".
The reinsurer Scor was on the verge of bankruptcy, after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the bursting of the Internet bubble, when it was offered, urgently, to become the CEO on a Sunday in 2002. Under his leadership, the company recovered from 12th to 4th place in the world in terms of turnover.
Shocked to learn of the death of Denis Kessler, a genius, thunderous, brilliant, sometimes unbearable, creative like no one, and who brought so many ideas to the companies and economy of our country, especially through his commitment to @medef.
— Laurence Parisot (@LaurenceParisot) June 9, 2023
"We turned this group around, with an exceptional team, which I am extremely proud of," he said before handing over the general management in June 2021 (while keeping his presidency).
Its management and salary were then contested by minority shareholders, in a turbulent context for Scor, which had just made peace with the insurance group Covéa, after several years of a legal and media tug-of-war engaged after the attempt to buy the first by the second.
"Someone who doesn't let go of his bone"
"He is someone who does not let go of his bone," and with an "absolutely volcanic temperament," said several collaborators, describing him as "bloody". "I have never made lukewarm water in my life," defended Denis Kessler, for whom "success in business is the ability to decide". "I am loyal in friendship, as in enmity," he assumed.
"Over the past two decades, Denis Kessler has been the architect of Scor's success and reputation worldwide," said Thierry Léger, the group's current CEO. "He leaves us an extraordinary legacy."
"He left his mark on the world of insurance and reinsurance and greatly contributed to the spread of economic science in our country and to the modernization of the relationship between business and society," said Bernard Spitz, former president of the French Insurance Federation.
Denis Kessler was a member of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council from 1993 to 2010. He has also been a director of Dexia, Bolloré, BNP Paribas and Dassault Aviation, among others.
