According to a statement from Zurich, Baker has already liaised with Paul Quirk, his predecessor in the CEO role "to ensure a smooth handover". Quirk is now no longer working at Zurich.
Baker, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, has held a number of senior roles in the financial services and insurance industries in the UK and the Asia Pacific region.
His role at Prudential Vietnam centred on the setting up and executing of an operations and information technology strategy for what is the largest life company in Vietnam with 750 staff across 23 offices.
Prior to that he spent 16 years in other parts of the Prudential operation around the world and he was also an audit superviser for KPMG in the late half of the1980s.
This year the international picture for Zurich has seen it awarded a direct insurance licence to run an operation in Singapore.
Back in the UK, Zurich also announced that around 90 jobs had to go in its UK business, as part of a wider drive to deliver profitable growth in the light of challenging markets.
