NU Online News Service, Jan.14, 11:54 a.m. EST
The International Insurance Society announced that Frank O'Halloran, chief executive officer of Sidney-based QBE Insurance Group, is the 2010 Insurance Hall of Fame winner.
IIS said yesterday that the award will also go posthumously to William C. Greenough, past chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF. The induction ceremony is planned for June 7 at the 46th IIS Annual Seminar, held this year from June 6-9 in Madrid, Spain.
The organization said that under Mr. O'Halloran's leadership QBE has experienced immense growth and "is considered one of the greatest success stories in the insurance industry around the world."
It noted that Mr. O'Halloran was directly responsible for over 125 acquisitions by the QBE Group over the last 20 years with the takeover of the Elders' insurance business in Australia the latest acquisition in QBE's growth strategy.
QBE has been a high-profit performer and now ranks in the 25 largest insurers in the world with operations in 45 countries driving three-quarters of its revenue from outside Australia, IIS said. The firm has weathered the recession by diversification of products, geographical exposure and conservative investments, and market capitalization has soared over $22.5 billion.
Mr. Greenough, who died in 1989, retired as TIAA-CREF chairman and CEO in 1979 after 40 years. He is "renowned worldwide for creating the variable annuity, which transformed pension-fund management," IIS said. Mr. Greenough's invention was credited with having a global influence on pension fund management and investment.
Nominees for the Insurance Hall of Fame are selected by the IIS Honors Committee, a body of senior insurance executives and academics, and voted on by the IIS membership by secret ballot.
Mr. O'Halloran won out over four other nominees this year: Professor Yehuda Kahane, a professor of insurance and finance, Tel-Aviv University faculty of management; Manuel P?voas, founder of Bradesco pension fund corporation, Sao Paulo, Brazil; David Prosser, former group chief executive and director, Legal and General Group, London; and Charles Wang, founder of the Insurance Institute of the Republic of China, renamed Taiwan Insurance Institute, Taiwan.
"I cannot think of anyone active in the industry today who is more qualified than Frank O'Halloran to receive the Insurance Hall of Fame award," Brian Duperreault, IIS chairman, said in a statement.
"QBE's growth under Frank O'Halloran's leadership is nothing short of remarkable, both in terms of returns and global expansion," said a statement from Michael J. Morrissey, IIS president and CEO. "I congratulate him on receiving the highest award in insurance, an honor he truly deserves."
The Insurance Hall of Fame was created in 1957 and is administered by the IIS, which was founded in 1965 as a nonprofit corporation. IIS describes itself as the largest multinational organization of its kind with almost 900 corporate and individual members from more than 90 countries.
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