Team
2+4=11
More than the sum of our parts.
we4 Impact´s team is characterized by a high level of interdisciplinarity and many years of professional experience in insurance medicine. We have insurance business knowledge and expertise from the actuarial field as well as from data analysis. Methodologically, we have project management and facilitation skills from strategy development to implementation; our approach is analytical and agile. This is rounded off by our coaching and team development expertise as well as our own experience as executives in the insurance industry. In this way, we single-handedly offer all capabilities our customers need for a successful transformation project or in the operational services provided by our insurance medical experts.
Dr. Laila Neuthor holds a German Diploma (i.e., MSc) in economics from the University of Munich and the Universitet i Bergen, Norway, focusing on insurance economics, game theory and econometrics. Additionally, Laila holds a Master of Business Research (MBR), and a doctoral degree in economics, both from the University of Munich. Her doctoral thesis on reinsurance intermediation and demand was supported by a grant from the German Insurance Science Society. While obtaining these degrees, Laila was a teaching and research assistant at the Institute for Risk Management & Insurance at the University of Munich, and a Visiting Scholar at the National Chang Chi University, in Taipeh, Taiwan. During her undergraduate studies, Laila worked in the (re)insurance industry, starting as an intern in ERC Frankona Re in 2002 and joining Swiss Re as a Graduate Trainee in Non-Life underwriting in 2005. In 2011 Laila joined Munich Re as an Executive Strategic Assistant to Munich Re´s Board Member for the reinsurance division of Germany, Africa, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, with deployments to Beijing, China, and ERGO´s joint venture in Mumbai, India. From 2014 to 2018, Laila led the Munich Re´s Life and, from 2017 on, the Health Client Management Team for markets in Northern, Eastern, and Southern Europe as well as North Africa and the Middle East.
Since 2006 Laila has constantly been training insurance know-how at various levels in different institutions. In 2014, Laila undertook further education to become a trainer for team development and group dynamics, a consultant for organization development and a leadership coach. As a consequence, she is able to combine her strong content-driven expertise with skills as a change agent.
Laila is convinced that capitalizing on the combined knowledge and expertise of employees and industry experts can create sustainable change in the life insurance industry itself – it is just a question of mindset!
Dr. Karsten Filzmaier studied medicine at the medical school of the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg from 1990 to 1997. In the course of his studies, he spent two years working in hospitals in India, Israel and the United Kingdom. Between 1998 and 2005, he worked at the University Hospital of Aachen and qualified as a specialist in internal medicine, cardiology and emergency medicine. From 2007 to 2018, Karsten worked as Chief Medical Officer in the reinsurance (Munich Re) and direct insurance sector (Allianz Germany). In both companies he managed the centre of competence for insurance medicine. These departments were global contact points for all medical and scientific issues in Life (and partially Health) insurance, including medical underwriting and claims consulting for complex individual risks, the development of risk assessment guidelines and the provision of medical consultancy services for product development, risk modelling, data analytics and process automation.
Karsten strongly believes that medicine will play an important role in improving services, processes and the quality of products in the Life insurance sector in the future.
Dr. Ienje Gatz studied human medicine at the medical faculties of Lübeck and Hanover from 2000 to 2007 and completed her doctorate on general patient satisfaction in outpatient care in 2015. Since 2007, she has worked in the fields of internal medicine, intensive care and general medicine, and from 2009 to 2017 Ienje was an active paramedic in Germany and Switzerland.
In 2012, Ienje moved into the insurance industry: first as a company medical officer (CMO) at Continentale Lebensversicherung and Europa Lebensversicherung, where Ienje was responsible for health insurance at times in addition to risk and benefit assessment in life insurance. At the same time, she worked at Medicals Direct as a consulting and training doctor.
In 2014, Ienje took on the role of Head of Underwriting for the German market at Swiss Re. In the following years, Ienje’s area of responsibility as Head of Underwriting expanded to include the entire Northern and South-Eastern European region as well as the BeneLux countries and the management of several teams. Together with her team, Ienje was the point of contact for all medical and scientific questions relating to life and health insurance. The planning and implementation of training programmes and the development of new, market-specific and customer-specific application processes were part of her area of responsibility, as was underwriting consulting with advisory services, product development, process automation and medical translations.
By moving internally to iptiQ as Head of Underwriting, Ienje was able to focus on process automation and product development.
In 2023, Ienje moved to Ottonova, a provider of digital private health insurance, as Head of Underwriting.
Ienje is convinced that well thought-out digitalisation and automation will open up new paths and markets in the entire insurance industry.
Dr. Iris Stolle studied medicine at the Medical School of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn. In the course of her studies, she spent a few months in Bern, Switzerland. During her time as a practictioner, Iris focused on rheumatology and internal medicine. Since 1993 Iris has been working in the life insurance industry as an insurance medical expert for several first und re-insurers. Iris has a profound knowledge of underwriting and claims for complex individual risks, product development, and the development of both manual and digital risk assessment guidelines. Iris also has long standing experience in training both underwriters and claims handlers in insurance medicine.
Iris is convinced that medical expertise is key to creating both sustainable and competitive products and efficient operational processes in life insurance today and in the future.
Dr. Barbara Claudi has practiced in the fields of surgery, gynecology and obstetrics as well as radiology and nuclear medicine and general medicine. Since 1988, she has worked in insurance medicine in life insurance and rehabilitation management for several insurers and reinsurers, including as Chief Medical Officer of Swiss Re Germany. Her extensive expertise and her deep understanding of the German life insurance market and its products come are a major advantage in supporting underwriters and claims handlers, especially assessment of complex cases.
Johannes Marxen has been studying human medicine since 2018. He started his studies at the Wroclaw Medical School in Wroclaw and has been continuing them at the Ludwigs-Maximilian-Universität Munich since 2022.
In addition to his studies, Johannes has been a working student at we4 Impact since May 2023, assisting with researching medical articles and data sources.
Georgia Apostolidou has been studying human medicine since 2019. She started her studies at the Wroclaw Medical School in Wroclaw and has been continuing her studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich since 2023.
In addition to her studies, Georgia has been working as a student trainee at we4 Impact since December 2024, assisting with the revision of presentations and educational materials, researching medical articles, case studies and data sources, and marketing and communications.
In addition, Georgia is working on her doctoral thesis on “spinal ischaemia and back pain after thoracoabdominal endovascular aortic repair” in the vascular surgery department of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital in Munich.