Zurich Financial Services has appointed Antoine Baronnet to the newly created position of head of private banking clients solutions for its Global Life Insurance business. He will report to GLI chief executive Mario Greco and will be based in Zurich.

In a statement, the firm says that it sees huge potential in private banking clients who currently have less than 1 per cent of invested assets in insurance-related products. Mr Baronnet will be evaluating Zurich’s opportunities to offer wrapped investment portfolios with flexibility to meet highly affluent customers’ needs.

He joins Zurich from ABN Amro in Luxembourg, where he has been global head of fiduciary products since 2000 and managing director of ABN Amro Life since 1996.