As the Asia-Pacific CEO and chief investment officer of Allianz Investment Management, the investment arm of German insurance behemoth Allianz Group, Ritu Gangrade Arora manages assets under management worth $48 billion in 12 countries, including India, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. In FY22, Ritu faced the challenge of market volatility. Her experience combined with Allianz’s practices insulated policyholders and shareholders against economic shocks and her team’s AUM scaled up from $32 billion in 2017 to $48 billion in 2022. Under her leadership, the group has made significant investments across private equity, real estate, public equities & fixed income in India.
A mother of two, Ritu shuttles between her work base in Singapore and home base in Delhi. She believes lack of gender-sensitive support during the initial years of a woman’s career is the main reason why they do not rise to the top. Ritu is driving the Allianz Group’s agenda of gender diversity, along with the agenda of climate change. Allianz has set a target of net-zero emission of the portfolio by 2050. Ritu’s team has developed technology-driven portfolio management solutions that integrate, model and deliver sustainable investment solutions.
Ritu sits on the board of Allianz Investment Management and represents Allianz in India as Advisor to Allianz SE board. Ritu is also a director on the boards of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, and HCL Infosystems. — Rajiv Ranjan Singh