Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) is a very large financial services company, specialising in insurance and asset management (through Scudder Kemper Investments and Threadneedle Asset Management they manage "assets" worth more than $442 billion). They are the third largest insurer in Europe. They gave more than £5,000 in sponsorship to the Labour Party in 1999-2000 and spent more than £5,000 on "Tickets for Dinners" in 2000-2001.
The chief executive of Zurich Financial Services is Alexander P. "Sandy" Leitch, who was appointed as head of the New Deal Task Force in September 2000, shortly before the UK Labour Party conference. He was previously a Director of BAT industries, the tobacco company, and Chief Executive of its financial services division, BAFS. This involved acting as Chairman of Allied Dunbar, Eagle Star and Threadneedle Asset Management, all of which merged with Zurich Insurance to form ZFS in 1998. He was chair of the Association of British Insurers from 1998-2000 and is a director of Allied Zurich plc. He was paid £1,003,000 in 1997.
