The Insurance Information Institute (“I.I.I.”) has named Sean Kevelighan president and chief executive officer, effective August 8, 2016.
Mr. Kevelighan has over 18 years of public affairs, communications, and media relations experience, including leadership roles in the global property/casualty (“P/C”) insurance industry.
The I.I.I. said in a statement that, as president and CEO, Mr. Kevelighan will provide strategic oversight for the organization and act as a key spokesperson for the P/C insurance industry as a whole.
“Over nearly two decades, Sean has attained impressive accomplishments in public affairs and communications as well as a deep technical knowledge of insurance issues,” said Bruce Kelley, the president and chief executive officer of EMC Insurance Companies in Des Moines, Iowa, and the chair of the I.I.I.'s board of directors. “The search committee screened dozens of high-caliber candidates, but the final vote was unanimous. Sean is an ideal fit for the CEO role due to his success as a media spokesperson in both corporate and government settings, as well as his international insurance industry experience.”
Mr. Kevelighan was previously global head of public affairs for Zurich Insurance Group, where he was responsible for setting the corporation's global public policy and corporate responsibility agendas. He moved to Zurich following a stint as group head of global consumer banking public affairs for Citigroup. He has also worked as head of North American group media relations for Zurich, as well as in President George W. Bush's administration both for the Treasury Department and as press secretary for the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Current I.I.I. president Dr. Robert Hartwig will be stepping down from his role, effective August 2016, to become a faculty member in the University of South Carolina's Darla Moore School of Business. He will also be co-director of the Moore School's Risk and Uncertainty Management Center.
“It's an honor to have been given this opportunity,” said Mr. Kevelighan. “Insurance is the lifeblood of any economy, as it enables individuals to be better prepared for the unexpected and, in turn, to live more freely. Over the years I have truly grown passionate about insurance and, quite frankly, feel it deserves more credit for the value it brings to society.”
Learn more: www.iii.org.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].