Mendelsohn Out At Royal & Sun

NU Online News Service, Sept. 12, 2:16 p.m. EST?The board of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc announced that Bob Mendelsohn will step down from his roles as director and group chief executive officer, effective immediately.

In a statement, Royal & SunAlliance's chairman, Sir Patrick Gillam, said, "In order to exploit the work done to date, it is the board's view that the interests of the group will be best served by a change in the top management."

Bob Gunn, currently the group's chief operating officer, will take over the role until a permanent successor is appointed, the U.K.-based insurer announced.

The statement also said that a search and recruitment process involving both internal and external candidates is under way.

Mr. Gunn, who was appointed COO in Sept. 2001, has been with Royal & SunAlliance since 1973. He previously served as group director-Americas and as a member of the group's board of directors. Between 1990 and 1998, he was chief executive of the group's Canadian operations.

In addition to the management change announced, the group reiterated it is reviewing its capital requirements for the remainder of 2002 and for 2003, and the performance of a number of its businesses?strategies which were made public when it released its half-year results in August.

The board intends to announce its decisions on the need for external capital raising and other findings no later Nov. 7, the date of its third-quarter earnings release.

In its August earnings statement, Royal & Sun Alliance reported a $100 million addition to its reserve provision for losses from the World Trade Center and an operating result of $458 million (301 million pounds) for the first half of 2002. In 2001, operating earnings were $556 million (366 million pounds) for the first six months.

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Mendelsohn Out At Royal & Sun

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