Assurant reorganises leadership as CRO retires

New York-headquartered Assurant is adding three members to its management committee to “accelerate decision-making across all of the company’s most critical businesses and to support its global growth strategy,” according to a corporate statement.

The provider of risk management products and services also announced that Christopher Pagano, chief risk officer, will retire on April 1, 2019, after 23 years of service with Assurant.

David Conner, a 22-year Assurant veteran, will assume the role of senior vice president, global head of risk, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Conner will report to Bob Lonergan, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, as the company aims to better integrate risk into strategic decision making across the enterprise.

The new members of the management committee are Kathy McDonald, president, Global Specialty, Keith Meier, president, International, and Tammy Schultz, president, Global Preneed.

“As the needs of our customers change, we will continue to evolve how we operate as a global organization,” said Alan Colberg, Assurant CEO.

“That means innovating to add value and continuing to enhance the customer experience, while finding efficiencies and opportunities to leverage the size and scale of our global operations,” said Colberg.

Furthermore, Gene Mergelmeyer, chief operating officer, will assume leadership of the company’s Global Technology organization, building on his previous experience leading Assurant’s corporate technology team. Mergelmeyer will transition his business segment oversight responsibilities to Keith Demmings, president of Global Lifestyle; Michael Campbell, president of Global Housing; and Tammy Schultz, president of Global Preneed, all of whom will now report to Colberg.

Mergelmeyer will also have oversight for operations transformation and other large strategic initiatives with a focus on driving greater efficiencies through standardization and deployment of technology, while also helping deliver an enhanced customer experience.

Reporting to Mergelmeyer will be Joe Surber, who will assume the role of senior vice president, global technology officer, effective January 1, 2019. Ajay Waghray, chief technology officer, who as a result of these changes, will be leaving the company.

“Ajay championed the integration of our global technology organization and we thank him for the many ways he has contributed to framing our roadmap for the future,” said Colberg.

“Technology has always been a key competitive strength of Assurant and a strategic enabler for profitable growth across the organization,” Colberg continued. “Given the pace of change, we see opportunities to be more efficient in how we operate and to accelerate innovation and speed-to-delivery to provide a better customer experience.”

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