Equal Opportunity Employers.It doesn't take 30 years of service in the insurance industry to make it to the top of an insurance company anymore. Executives from retail, banking and other financial-services companies are being tapped to lead major insurers. These new chief executives are bringing with them fresh ideas from outside the sometimes staid staid adj. 1. Characterized by sedate dignity and often a strait-laced sense of propriety; sober. See Synonyms at serious. 2. confines con·fine v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines v.tr. 1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit. of the insurance industry. (See "The New Breed of CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. ," page 25.) But can their new ways of thinking be assimilated into the corporate cultures of insurance companies? Sean Sweeney, vice president of Bonifield Associates, a Marlton, N.J.-based executive recruitment firm, said the answer often is no. "There have been many, many attempts to bring the outside influence into the industry," he said, "and very few have stuck long term." Sweeney said insurance company boards of directors usually are trying to shake things up when they hire executives from outside the industry. "The people that they've brought in have been more identified for their financial investment acumen rather than their insurance background," he said. But longtime company loyalists Loyalists, in the American Revolution, colonials who adhered to the British cause. The patriots referred to them as Tories. Although Loyalists were found in all social classes and occupations, a disproportionately large number were engaged in commerce and the often turn a distrustful dis·trust·ful adj. Feeling or showing doubt. dis·trust  ful·ly adv.dis·trust eye to these newcomers, Sweeney said. Time will tell how this new breed of CEO will fare in the face of the insurance industry's natural selection. A Pat on the Back Best's Review received two national awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors You can improve this article by adding links to related material, within the existing text. After links have been created, remove this message. For more information, see the . Best's Review won two other Eastern Region Awards: * Bronze, front cover illustration, William Waggoner, "Car Wars," October 2000. * Bronze, contents pages, McNamara, Waggoner, Laura Plumpton, September 2000. David T. Hilgen David Hilgen is editor. You may reach him at (908) 439-2200, Ext. 5038, by writing to A.M. Best Co., Ambest Road, Oldwick, NJ 08858, or by e-mail at david.hilgen@ambest.com. The e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address for Best's Review is bestreview@ambest.com. |
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