Prudential: International Chief to Retire; Three Senior Managers Are Promoted
February 14, 2014 by Marie Suszynski
NEWARK, N.J. – Prudential Financial Inc. said its international division chief will retire in April as the company makes several shifts in its senior management to align its management talent to its corporate strategies.
Ed Baird, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Prudential’s international division, will retire on April 4. Charles F. Lowrey, currently executive vice president and chief operating officer of U.S.-based businesses, will take his post.
Baird joined Prudential in 1979 and was made head of international businesses in 2008. Previously he was president of Prudential’s group insurance business, chairman and president of Pruco Life Insurance Co., and chief representative of Prudential Investment Management, Inc., where he oversaw the retail and institutional asset management businesses in Japan.
“He led the businesses during a period of tremendous growth in Japan and is the chief architect of our recent expansion into new international markets,” John Strangfeld, Prudential’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Lowrey helped increase the earnings of Prudential’s U.S. businesses by 50% during the past three years he held his current position, Strangfeld said. The businesses he leads had about $1 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2013. He joined Prudential in 2001 and previously served as CEO of Prudent Real Estate Investors.
Steve Pelletier, currently CEO of group insurance, will be promoted to executive vice president and take over U.S. businesses. Lori Fouche, currently president and COO of group insurance, will be promoted to senior vice president and take over Pelletier’s role.
The changes will position the company for future growth, Strangfeld said.
“Taken together, these changes demonstrate how much time and attention we put into talent management at Prudential, including succession planning, talent development, diversity, teamwork, and collaboration,” he said.
Earlier in February, Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) recorded a fourth-quarter 2013 net loss of $427 million, compared with a net loss of $185 million during the same period in 2012. The quarter included $1.2 billion in pretax losses mostly on changes in value of the Japanese yen relative to other currencies. The company’s net loss for the year amounted to $713 million, compared with a net income of $479 million in 2012 (Best’s News Service, Feb. 6, 2014).
Prudential cracked the top 10 to rank as the eighth-largest insurance company in the world in 2012 based on net premiums written, according to A.M. Best Co. Driving the increase was more than $30 billion in premiums related to significant non-participating group annuity pension risk-transfer transactions with two unaffiliated pension plan sponsors (Best’s News Service, Jan. 8, 2014).
Rated companies of Prudential Financial currently have a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior).
Mid-afternoon Feb. 14, shares of Prudential were trading at $85.15, up 0.63% from the previous close.
(By Marie Suszynski, Best’s News Service correspondent)