Assurant, Inc. Appoints Bart Schwartz as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
April 22 2008 - 5:15PM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Assurant, Inc.
("Assurant") (NYSE:AIZ), a premier provider of specialized
insurance and insurance-related products and services, today
announced that Bart Schwartz, 55, has joined the firm as executive
vice president, chief legal officer and secretary, effective April
28, 2008. Mr. Schwartz will be responsible for Assurant's legal
department and its compliance, government relations and internal
audit functions. He succeeds Jerome A. Atkinson, 58, Assurant's
executive vice president and chief compliance officer, who will
work to transition his responsibilities prior to his retirement
from Assurant on July 1. Earlier this month, Katherine Greenzang,
senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Assurant
had announced her intention to leave to spend more time with her
family and will provide assistance with the transition. Mr.
Schwartz has practiced law for 30 years with leading law firms and
major public companies. Most recently, he served as chief corporate
governance officer, corporate secretary and chief securities
counsel at The Bank of New York, where he played an important role
in legal matters related to The Bank of New York's merger with
Mellon Financial Corporation. Previously, Mr. Schwartz was deputy
general counsel and corporate secretary of Marsh & McLennan
Companies in New York, where he was responsible for all corporate
legal affairs of the parent company, including corporate
governance, securities law compliance and reporting and corporate
transactions, and for employment law, executive compensation and
employee benefits matters. Robert B. Pollock, Assurant's president
and chief executive officer said: "We are delighted to welcome Bart
to Assurant. He is a seasoned legal professional with broad
expertise in corporate governance and in public company legal and
regulatory issues in the insurance and financial services
industries. We look forward to his contributions as we continue to
execute on our diversified specialty insurance strategy." Mr.
Pollock continued: "Jerome has been a valued member of our
management team and has shown great dedication to Assurant and its
growth over his two-decade tenure. We wish him all the best in his
retirement. And after fourteen years of strong contributions to
Assurant's success, we wish Katherine and her family all the best
as she transitions to a new role at home." Mr. Schwartz said: "I
look forward to joining Assurant. As a leading specialty insurer,
Assurant is a highly regarded name in the insurance industry. I am
excited about the opportunity to work with my new colleagues to
contribute to the firm's continued success." Mr. Schwartz's
previous legal experience includes serving as senior vice president
and general counsel of The MONY Group, acting as strategic and
legal advisor through critical stages in the company's history,
including its sale to AXA Financial. Before that, he had served as
senior vice president and general counsel of Willis Corroon
Corporation (now Willis Group Holdings). Mr. Schwartz began his
legal career as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton and later
at Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom. Mr. Schwartz earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree from Antioch College, a Juris Doctor degree
from the University of Southern California and a Master of Business
Administration degree from Vanderbilt University. He has published
books and articles on corporate governance, securities law, and
insurance issues, and is a member of the board of directors of the
Association of Corporate Counsel. Assurant is a premier provider of
specialized insurance products and related services in North
America and selected other international markets. The four key
businesses -- Assurant Solutions; Assurant Specialty Property;
Assurant Health; and Assurant Employee Benefits -- have partnered
with clients who are leaders in their industries and have built
leadership positions in a number of specialty insurance market
segments in the U.S. and selected international markets. The
Assurant business units provide debt protection administration;
credit-related insurance; warranties and service contracts;
pre-funded funeral insurance; creditor-placed homeowners insurance;
manufactured housing homeowners insurance; individual health and
small employer group health insurance; group dental insurance;
group disability insurance; and group life insurance. Assurant, a
Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500, is traded on
the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. Assurant has more
than $26 billion in assets and $8 billion in annual revenue.
Assurant has more than 13,000 employees worldwide and is
headquartered in New York's financial district.
http://www.assurant.com/. DATASOURCE: Assurant, Inc. CONTACT:
Press: Drew Guthrie, Manager, Communications and Media Relations,
+1-212-859-7002, , or Investor Relations: Melissa Kivett, Senior
Vice President Investor Relations, +1-212-859-7029, , or John Egan,
Vice President Investor Relations, +1-212-859-7197, , all of
Assurant, Inc., Fax: +1-212-859-5893 Web site:
http://www.assurant.com/
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