Career

He began his career with Allianz in 1988 after becoming frustrated with his own business, a publishing house that focused on travel guides. In 1996, he moved to Singapore to run Allianz"s Asia-Pacific business front. Diekmann"s total compensation from 2010 was around one hundred and five million Euros.

Diekmann earned his degree from Goettingen University, where he studied law and philosophy.

Diekmann entered the position by releasing thousands of employees from the company and shifted Allianz"s focus to larger wealthier clients. Diekmann also put $730 million into the Fireman"s Fund.

This shrewd move effectively saved the company from going bankrupt. Once Diekmann took office as Chief Executive Officer, he was able to turn the company"s fortunes around and Allianz became profitable within twelve months of his employment.