Paweł Dangel
By : Greg Goodale
Paweł Dangel, 46, studied theater at the Moscow state drama school (GITIS) and after graduating in 1979 went on to direct plays for Polish theaters until 1983. When martial law was lifted the same year, Dangel left Poland for England. In the U.K. he continued to direct, but also lectured at drama schools and was a contributor to Radio Free Europe.
In 1985, Dangel turned to selling life insurance after feeling the pinch of Margaret Thatchers economic reforms on the education sector and the pressure to support a growing family. At the time, he said he saw the move as a means of supplementing his income rather than a career change, but within a year he moved to U.S. insurer Lincoln National, where he started his ascent in the world of insurance.
By 1990 he had left his job as branch manager at Lincoln and cofounded an office of international giant MGM Assurance. After running the company for two years, he said temptation got the better of him and he took a position with U.K. marine insurer Manley Hopkins Group as head of the companys sales and marketing in Central and Eastern Europe.
A holiday in Zakopane in 1994 brought him into contact with Dutch finance group Nationale Nederlanden, and following rigorous screening he became vice chairman of the board and sales and marketing director, responsible for setting up the companys Polish insurance arm. Three years later Dangel moved to German insurer Allianz where he became the chairman of its life and property insurance arms.
Past notes:
1979 Graduated in theater direction from Moscow state theater school (GITIS)
1983 Moved to England
1985 Insurance agent for Royal Life
1986 Branch manager for Lincoln National
1990 Cofounded MGM Assurance
1992 Head of sales and marketing for Manley Hopkins Group
1994 Vice chairman of Nationale Nederlanden Polska
1997 Chairman of the board of Allianz
Word of advice:
Dont love your role in the life of your company, love your companys role in your life.
