Finnish insurance group Sampo Oyj has announced a leadership transition that it hopes will offer stability following a period of strategic transformation. Morten Thorsrud, currently head of Sampo’s flagship If P&C Insurance division, has been named as the successor to outgoing chief executive Torbjörn Magnusson.
Thorsrud will officially step into the CEO role on October 1, according to a statement issued by Sampo on Wednesday. The Helsinki-headquartered group noted that he was selected from a pool of internal candidates, reinforcing a preference for leadership continuity.
Magnusson, who has held the top position since 2019 and has served the company in various capacities for 25 years, will remain as a senior adviser until the end of 2025.
The decision comes as Sampo completes a multi-year repositioning strategy, exiting non-core businesses to become a focused property and casualty (P&C) insurance company. The firm has divested its holdings in Nordea Bank Abp and recently spun off its life insurance and asset management arm, Mandatum Oyj, signalling a sharpened focus on its core general insurance operations.
“With the strategic transformation of Sampo complete and the business in excellent shape, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to hand over to the next generation of leadership,” Magnusson said in a prepared statement.
Thorsrud brings more than 20 years of experience within the Sampo Group, and has been instrumental in growing If P&C into the region’s leading general insurer. The division serves around four million customers across the Nordic and Baltic countries, and is widely regarded as the group’s most valuable asset.
His appointment is expected to provide continuity in execution as Sampo continues to consolidate its position as a leading non-life insurer in Northern Europe. Industry observers will be watching closely to see how Thorsrud steers the group in a competitive market environment that includes growing digitalisation, evolving climate risk, and tightening regulatory scrutiny.
