Updated with correction
It was a marathon, not a sprint. Allianz Global Investors had its employees on the move this summer: 172,283 kilometers (107,075 miles) to be exact.
Its parent company — German insurance giant Allianz Group — had its businesses compete in Allianz World Run, a project that saw the firm's 142,460 employees exercise to earn €250,000 ($277,218) for a charity.
All kinds of moving counted. Allianz GI's employees, spanning 20 offices around the globe, ran, hiked and walked, adding steps on their GPS trackers even as they went on business trips. Between May 13 and Aug. 11, Allianz Group employees covered 1.6 million kilometers, a record for the four years the challenge has been held.
Allianz Global Investors came in second among the business units, behind Allianz Thailand.
The money raised through the challenge supports SOS Children's Villages. Allianz's donations among other regions go toward efforts to counter mass displacement, high unemployment and inadequate public services in some areas of Ukraine.
"Such initiatives epitomize the team spirit (together with a bit of healthy competition between Allianz companies) that makes Allianz such a great place to work. ... Particular congratulations to Allianz Thailand who completed a staggering 190,000+ km this year!" said Andreas Utermann, CEO of Allianz GI, on his LinkedIn page.
