Geneva Association Women in Insurance Award honours Elena Sanz, CEO Mapfre Iberia, for outstanding, people-centred leadership

ZURICH, 5 March 2026 – Elena Sanz, CEO of Mapfre Iberia, has been named this year’s recipient of the Geneva Association Women in Insurance Award, in recognition of her exceptional leadership through a period of company transformation and repeated disaster crises in Spain.

As the first woman to lead Mapfre Iberia, Elena Sanz has combined a strong people-centred leadership approach – shaped by her background as Group Chief People Officer – with decisive operational execution. She has strengthened the insurer’s ability to respond locally to major disasters, such as the Valencia floods in 2024, while accelerating digital transformation, reinforcing insurance’s essential role as a pillar of social and economic resilience.
 

Lee Yuan Siong, Chairman of the Geneva Association and Group Chief Executive & President of AIA, said: "Elena Sanz’s leadership exemplifies the qualities our industry must demonstrate when operational resilience matters most. In navigating transformation while responding decisively to major disaster events, she has reinforced insurance’s essential role in helping communities manage risk, absorb shocks and recover with confidence. As leaders of the global insurance industry, we have a responsibility to ensure our sector strengthens economic stability and societal resilience. Elena’s leadership reflects that commitment in action.”

Elena Sanz, CEO of Mapfre Iberia, said: “I feel deeply honoured by this recognition from the Geneva Association for my long career at Mapfre. It has been more than 30 years of personal and professional growth, surrounded by excellent colleagues in an industry that is uniquely capable of transforming people’s lives. Insurance is society’s greatest ally in the face of uncertainty and adversity."

Elena Sanz has served as CEO of Mapfre Iberia since 2024 and as a member of the Mapfre Board of Directors since 2023. She also holds several industry leadership roles, including Vice Chairwoman of UNESPA. Throughout her career, she has driven large-scale transformation across Mapfre, advancing people, learning, digital, and sustainability platforms with measurable impact. Her leadership has restored Mapfre Iberia’s technical profitability, reinforced the company’s nationwide territorial network, and accelerated data- and AI-enabled personalisation – strengthening Mapfre’s customer service and capacity to respond to societal and climate-related challenges.

The Geneva Association, the only global association of insurance companies, investigates key risk areas likely to impact the insurance industry and provides a platform for stakeholder discussions. Geneva Association member companies are headquartered in 26 countries; manage USD 21 trillion in assets; employ more than 2.5 million people; and protect 2.6 billion people.

ENDS

Media Contact:

Pamela Corn

Director of Communications
+41 44 200 49 96
pamela_corn@genevaassociation.org