AIR Worldwide founder Karen Clark will leave her post as chiefexecutive officer to become vice chairman of the board, the companyannounced.

S. Ming Lee, currently the company's executive vice president,will succeed her as president and chief executive officer on April15, AIR said.

“I've decided the time is right for me to rebalance myactivities and pursue new challenges,” said Ms. Clark. In 1987, Ms.Clark became a pioneer in developing probabilistic catastrophemodeling techniques changing how insurers, reinsurers and financialinstitutions manage their catastrophe risk, her company said.

AIR noted that she was involved in development of technologiesthat enable companies to identify, quantify and plan for thefinancial consequences of catastrophic events.

Frank Coyne, chairman, president and chief executive officer ofAIR's parent company Insurance Services Office in Jersey City,N.J., said Ms. Clark's contributions to the insurance industry “aresignificant and widely recognized.”

Ms. Clark said that when she started her career, catastrophemodeling as a recognized insurance discipline did not exist.

“Now, the next frontier lies in working more closely withdecision-makers in the industry to foster a deeper understanding ofthe models and how to use them most effectively,” she noted.

Mr. Lee joined AIR in 1996 and has managed several departmentsover the past decade. He currently directs the operations of AIR'sConsulting and Software Services Group, encompassing softwareproduct management and testing, technical support, and catastropheloss analysis services.