Edmund “Ted” Kelly is cutting his last tie toLiberty Mutual Insurance after more than 20 years with thecompany.

Liberty Mutual says its board has elected President and CEODavid H. Long chairman of the insurer.

Long will succeed Kelly, who is retiring at the end of June.Long succeeded Kelly as Liberty Mutual's president in 2010 and CEOin 2011.

“All of us at Liberty Mutual Insurance owe Ted Kelly atremendous debt of gratitude for his leadership and vision intransforming Liberty Mutual Insurance into the fifth largest globalproperty and casualty insurer,” says Long, in a statement. “Onbehalf of our 50,000 employees worldwide, I wish Ted and his familythe very best in the years ahead.”

Kelly started with Liberty Mutual in 1992 as president and COObefore being named CEO in 1998 and chairman in April 2000.

His tenure at Liberty Mutual is marked by tremendous growth. Netpremiums written after 1998 were $6.52 billion compared to $21.48billion at the end of 2010. Policyholder surplus grew to more than$16 billion at 2010 year-end from just more than $7 billion at thesame time in 1998.

Under Kelly's leadership Liberty Mutual bought Safeco in a movethat gave the insurer a presence on the West Coast. The companyalso embarked on a plan to spread its global footprint, expandingto places such as Latin America, Ireland, and China.

Long has been with Liberty Mutual longer than Kelly, working hisway up the ranks from his role as a financial analysts in 1985. Hethen served as division finance manager in corporate finance withresponsibilities in commercial, personal, and life business in thegroup's New England division.

Prior to becoming president of Liberty Mutual Group, Long waspresident of Liberty International and president of Liberty Mutualcommercial markets. He is a founding member of Liberty MutualAgency Corp., a unit created to broaden the insurer's distributionchannels to include independent agents.