Cornel Widmer
Global Head of Real Estate, Zurich Insurance
Cornel Widmer is Head of Group Real Estate at Zurich Insurance Company. He was appointed in 2012 and is responsible for the development and implementation of the centrally driven real estate investment strategy across Zurich’s global insurance balance sheets and products with focus on core investment strategies, achievement of superior returns through efficient execution, good management of risk and optimal construction of Zurich’s real estate investment portfolios. Widmer chairs Zurich’s Global Real Estate Investment Committee and is a member of various other Investment Committee and Boards where Zurich manages client portfolios and funds. Widmer was an architect at Hans Frehner Architects in St. Gallen Switzerland (1985-1995). He was previously at Georg Fishcer, an industrial conglomerate headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland (1996-1999), where he was responsible for Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management. He joined Zurich in 1999 as a Real Estate Project Manager for international property developments (1999-2003) and later became responsible for the Real Estate portfolio management of Zurich’s Swiss portfolios. In 2009 he was named CEO of Zurich IMRE AG, Zurich’s Real Estate Asset Management in Switzerland. Widmer holds a master’s degree in real estate from the Center for Urban & Real Estate Management, University of Zurich and a bachelor degree in business administration and architecture from the University of applied Science St. Gallen, Switzerland.
