Best’s News & Research Service - July 07, 2011 12:53 PM (EDT)
CNO Financial CEO Prieur to Retire; CFO Tapped as New Chief
CARMEL, Ind. //BestWire// - CNO Financial Group Inc.'s five-year Chief Executive Officer C. James Prieur will retire on Sept. 30 and Chief Financial Officer Ed Bonach was named to succeed him.
"After five years of rebuilding and transforming CNO, Jim Prieur decided it was the appropriate time to retire and the board has decided to name Ed Bonach CEO upon Jim's retirement," said Tony Zehnder, a spokesman for the Carmel, Ind.-based CNO Financial.
Prieur, 60, also will retire from the board of directors, and Bonach, 57, will fill Prieur's position on the board at that time. Bonach will continue as CFO until his replacement is found.
The board also promoted Scott Perry, president of CNO's Bankers Life and Casualty Co. subsidiary, to the newly created position of chief operating officer. He will remain president of Bankers Life.
The main insurance subsidiaries of CNO Financial, which focuses on the senior and middle-income markets, are Bankers Life, Washington National Insurance Co. and Colonial Penn Life Insurance Co., which sell Medicare supplemental, supplemental health, long-term care insurance, life insurance and annuities.
CNO "is in a very good position financially, and we view this as the same book, new chapter," Zehnder said, noting the company has reported profitable quarters for the past two years.
In 2006, the company formerly known as Conseco named Prieur as CEO. Prieur, who took over in September of that year, succeeded William S. Kirsh, who resigned as president and CEO in May of that year, a few weeks after Conseco posted a 23.8% drop in first-quarter profit. Prieur joined Conseco from the Toronto-based Sun Life Financial, where he was president and COO (BestWire. Aug. 10, 2006).
In May 2010, shareholders of the former Conseco approved a change in the company's name to CNO Financial at the company's annual meeting. The change would separate the identity of the holding company, an investor brand, from that of its operating subsidiaries - the insurance brands that agents and consumers know (BestWire, March 25, 2010).
"Our strong financial results and our new corporate brand reflect our tremendous progress both operationally and financially," Prieur said in a statement. Among others, CNO has "substantially reduced" its debt, increased its focus on businesses where it has competitive advantages, "and spun off our legacy long-term care business to reduce risk and earnings volatility."
Bonach joined CNO in 2007 from National Life Group, where he served as executive vice president and CFO. Before joining National Life in 2002, he was with Allianz Life for 23 years, where his positions included president of the reinsurance division and CFO.
Perry joined Bankers Life in 2001, and was named president in 2006. Before Bankers, he spent 17 years in sales, marketing and management at health insurers including Premera Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Golden Rule.
Over the past few years, CNO Financial has been proactive in simplifying its focus on markets where true competitive advantages are achievable while at the same time, prudently managing risk, A.M. Best Co. said in December. This strategy has encompassed significant reinsurance transactions, considerable expense reductions and the exiting of non-core product lines. A.M. Best also viewed favorably the merger of Conseco Health Insurance Co. and Conseco Insurance Co. into Washington National to improve operational efficiencies (BestWire, Dec. 22, 2010).
Bankers Life and Casualty Co., Colonial Penn Life Insurance Co. and Washington National Insurance Co. each currently have a Best's Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good). Conseco Life Insurance Co. currently has a Best's Financial Strength Rating of B- (Fair).
(By Fran Matso Lysiak, senior associate editor, BestWeek: fran.lysiak@ambest.com)