Johannes Elsner

Head of Operations Allianz Global Investors

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

About

“Building high-performing teams to deliver impact: People. Momentum. Results." ​Based on my experience as a McKinsey Partner and Executive, and nearly 10 years in Corporate executive roles and in the Private Equity environment, I motivate operating teams in financial services ​to deliver turnarounds and ambitious efficiency improvements in the engine room of business. Why I Believe in Transformation: The most successful changes happen where clear strategies, data-driven decisions, and human trust intersect. Innovation starts with strong teams and becomes reality through focused execution. My Expertise: - Turning Strategy into Action: From concepts to measurable results. My experience as a McKinsey consultant and COO has proven that a plan is only as good as the people who bring it to life. - IT and Operations at the Core: IT and processes are the beating heart of any organization. I transform them from bottlenecks into enablers of success. - Leadership as an Expedition: To me, leadership is a journey—one fueled by courage, curiosity, and a team that turns challenges into opportunities. My Principles: 1 Diversity: A team composition of different skills is always preferable, and individual strengths should be assembled like in Ocean's 11. 2 Positive energy: Teams need conviction and belief in their success; they deserve continuous sportsman-like motivation. Servant leadership where helpful, leading from the front where needed. 3 Presence: Physical meetings matter. 4 Mechanisms: Progress has to be made visible in a rhythm of regular reviews/dialogues and management letters; OKRs can help a lot if they are succinct. 5 Focus: Operating teams should have one priority at a time on top of the daily work, two is already a stretch. 6 Details: Going to the bottom with real data in "hackathons" or "working sessions" is essential to crack the nut and understand what has to be changed. 7 It ain't over till it's over: Endurance and persistence can define the curiously elastic limits of performance.

Experience

  • Allianz Global Investors (Full-time · 1 yr 1 mo)
    • Member of the Management Board of AllianzGI GmbH
      Dec 2025 - Present · 7 mos

    • Head of Operations
      Jun 2025 - Present · 1 yr 1 mo

  • Kuratoriumsmitglied at Stiftung Bayerische EliteAkademie
    Jun 2015 - Present · 11 yrs 1 mo

  • Universal Investment (Full-time · 1 yr 5 mos)
    • Chairman of The Supervisory Board UI efa
      Jun 2024 - Jun 2025 · 1 yr 1 mo

    • Chairman of The Supervisory Board UI Luxemburg
      Jun 2024 - Jun 2025 · 1 yr 1 mo

    • Group Chief Operating Officer, Chief Transformation Officer
      Feb 2024 - Jun 2025 · 1 yr 5 mos

  • ERGO Group AG (Full-time · 5 yrs 10 mos)
    • Vorstandsmitglied
      Jan 2021 - Jan 2024 · 3 yrs 1 mo

      CIO Group, ERGO Technology & Services (Technology Investments and Technology Transformation)

    • Generalbevollmächtigter
      Oct 2019 - Jan 2021 · 1 yr 4 mos

      Chief Transformation Officer, ERGO Technology & Services

    • Generalbevollmächtigter
      Apr 2018 - Oct 2019 · 1 yr 7 mos

      Chief Transformation Officer, ERGO Deutschland AG

  • McKinsey & Company (Full-time · 11 yrs 10 mos)
    • Partner
      Jun 2006 - Mar 2018 · 11 yrs 10 mos

      Financial Institutions Group, focus on Insurance, Asset Management and Banking (Sales, Middle- and Backoffice Transformation)

    • Managing Partner Munich Office
      Jul 2014 - Dec 2017 · 3 yrs 6 mos