Penn National Insurance has announced that its president and chief executive officer, Christine Sears, will transition on January 1 from president and chief executive officer to chief executive officer, and that executive vice president and chief operating officer Robert B. Brandon will become president on that date.

Ms. Sears also announced that she plans to retire on August 31 from the company. Penn National said in a statement that, upon Ms. Sears' August 31 retirement, Mr. Brandon will become president and chief executive officer and that Ms. Sears will remain on the company's board of directors.

Ms. Sears joined Penn National in 1980 as a financial analyst and progressed through the financial division, becoming senior vice president and chief financial officer in 1999. Subsequent promotions included:

  • Member of the company's board of directors in 2002;
  • Executive vice president and chief financial officer in 2007;
  • Executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2010; and
  • President and chief executive officer in 2014.

Mr. Brandon joined Penn National in 1995 as a property underwriting line of business manager and progressed through the commercial lines division, becoming vice president of commercial lines in 2002. Subsequent promotions included:

  • Vice president of underwriting operations in 2005;
  • Senior vice president of underwriting operations in 2010; and
  • Executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2014.

Mr. Brandon earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Millersville University, and within the property-casualty insurance industry he earned the Chartered Property-Casualty Underwriter designation and the Associate in Risk Management designation from The Institutes. He also completed the Insurance Executive Development Program at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Sears said, "Bob's promotion underscores our company's traditional emphasis on talent development and providing opportunities for employees to learn, grow, and advance in their careers. Our leadership team members boast long tenure in our organization and in the industry, and Bob takes the helm following 24 years with our company. Bob has built strong relationships with our agents, he has earned their respect, and he continues our leadership culture of openness, accessibility, and responsiveness.

"I am grateful to our board of directors for their leadership and guidance, and their commitment to our succession planning process.

"Bob's superior knowledge of the company and insurance industry, combined with his proven leadership abilities, positions him for success in this role. Bob values the relationship with our independent agents, and he lives our values of integrity, excellence, respect, openness, and citizenship. He holds the ideal characteristics to lead us into our second century."

Board chair Steven Swanson said, "Chris Sears is a leader with a deep passion for the company's employees, agents and communities. Under her leadership, we have renewed our focus on talent development, identified the importance of making the customer experience a point of competitive differentiation, and instituted a rigorous strategic planning process leading to a more nimble and innovative culture that will bode well for us in the future. The company is financially stronger due to the growth in profitability. We thank Chris for her past service as president and are pleased that she will continue on the company's board of directors.

"Bob Brandon is uniquely qualified to take over the reins of Penn National Insurance. He started in the industry in 1983 and joined the company in 1995. Since then he has risen through the ranks of insurance operations. As our COO for the past five years, he has worked very closely with Chris on all of our major initiatives, especially the development of our new strategic planning process. He is highly respected by our employees, agents, regulators and reinsurers alike. Bob is deeply committed to the company and its success. The board is fully supportive of this transition, and we are fully confident that the company will continue to profitably grow by helping people feel secure and making life better when bad things happen."

Mr. Brandon added, "Next August, Chris will conclude 40 years of service to Penn National Insurance. In that span, she has touched virtually every area of the operation. I have been extremely fortunate to have reported to Chris for the last 10 years and benefited greatly from her lessons. She has made numerous significant contributions to our success. As CEO, Chris placed an emphasis on communication, openness, and talent development. We have come a long way in a short time. I am privileged to have the leadership opportunity and look forward to working with a great team in building on our growing momentum. The company is performing well and the proof is in our results."

Penn National also announced that, effective January 1, John Foster, vice president of underwriting operations, will become senior vice president of insurance operations, with the following areas reporting to him:

  • Commercial lines;
  • Personal lines;
  • Field operations;
  • Claims;
  • Analytics; and
  • Customer experience.

Mr. Foster joined Penn National in 2006 as vice president of personal lines. He was named vice president of underwriting operations in 2015. Before joining Penn National, Mr. Foster was assistant vice president for personal lines at Grange Mutual Insurance. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Penn State University and an M.B.A. from Frostburg State University, and within the property-casualty insurance industry he earned the Associate in Risk Management designation from The Institutes. He also completed the Insurance Executive Development Program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.

Victoria Spears

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].

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