Assurant Realigns Executive Team to Support Global Growth Strategy
16 November 2023 - 12:00AM
Business Wire
Keith Meier Named Chief Financial
Officer
Francesca Luthi Appointed Chief Operating
Officer
Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ), a leading global business services
company that supports, protects, and connects major consumer
purchases, today announced the realignment of its executive team to
support its global growth strategy and sustain business momentum by
appointing Keith Meier as chief financial officer and Francesca
Luthi as chief operating officer, effective immediately.
As chief financial officer (CFO), Keith Meier will have
oversight of Assurant’s global finance and technology organizations
and continue to report to Assurant president and CEO Keith
Demmings. Meier started his career at Price Waterhouse LLP (now
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP), specializing in insurance. During his
25-year tenure at Assurant, he has held leadership roles within
several of Assurant’s global businesses. As Head of International,
he successfully improved the underlying performance of the
company’s European operations and expanded its global footprint in
key markets, including establishing a leadership position in Japan.
Most recently, Meier served as chief operating officer during which
he integrated the company’s operations and technology teams,
driving technology innovation to reduce cost-to-serve while
enhancing the customer experience for Assurant’s major lines of
business.
“Keith’s appointment represents our ability to deploy our deep
bench of talent from a position of strength, building on our strong
momentum and accelerating long-term profitable growth,” said
Demmings. “He brings a unique combination of financial, business,
and commercial expertise and a commitment to drive shareholder
value through strategic investments and disciplined capital
allocation. His track record of delivering business growth and
digital innovation will strengthen our competitive advantage in the
market.”
As CFO, Meier will be responsible for leading Assurant’s global
finance organization, including its business finance, accounting,
actuarial, tax, treasury, asset management, internal audit, and
investor relations functions. Additionally, he will maintain
oversight of the company’s global technology organization to
continue to foster innovation and efficiency in support of
Assurant’s client growth strategies.
Meier succeeds Richard Dziadzio who, after seven years with the
company, will be leaving Assurant. Demmings commented, "We thank
Richard for his many contributions and dedication to excellence
during his tenure with Assurant.” Dziadzio oversaw the
implementation of the company’s global operating model in finance
to support business transformation, while also advancing the
company’s prudent capital management strategy. He will remain with
Assurant until mid-March of 2024 to support an orderly
transition.
The company also announced today that, effective immediately,
Francesca Luthi has been named chief operating officer (COO),
continuing to report to Keith Demmings. She will take
responsibility for Assurant’s global operations and the company’s
centers of excellence for customer experience, data analytics, and
digital and artificial intelligence transformation. To further
accelerate Assurant’s strategic priorities, Luthi will maintain
oversight of the company’s people organization, communications,
sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), global
sourcing, and facilities functions.
According to Demmings, “With more than 7,000 employees across
our global operations, Francesca’s appointment as COO will drive
significant business value and advance our progress in connecting
and delivering superior employee and customer experiences. She is a
proven global change agent within Assurant, and a champion of our
culture, who will focus on accelerating value realization through
the ongoing deployment of emerging technologies and a steadfast
focus on operational excellence.”
As chief administrative officer and acting chief human resources
officer, Luthi led a transformation of the People Organization to
strengthen Assurant’s culture and empower its 13,700 employees
worldwide to deliver on the company’s growth and innovation agenda.
As part of this effort, she designed and executed Assurant’s
“Future of Work” program, including resetting talent strategies,
enabling flexible ways of working, and restructuring the company’s
corporate real estate portfolio to evolve Assurant’s workplace
environment and consistently increase employee engagement. Through
the deployment of emerging technologies, she drove meaningful
improvements to the employee experience while also driving scale
efficiencies.
“Keith and Francesca exemplify the depth and breadth of our
executive bench. I am confident that in these new roles they will
accelerate growth for the benefit of our clients, employees and
shareholders,” Demmings concluded.
About Assurant
Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) is a leading global business services
company that supports, protects and connects major consumer
purchases. A Fortune 500 company with a presence in 21 countries,
Assurant supports the advancement of the connected world by
partnering with the world’s leading brands to develop innovative
solutions and to deliver an enhanced customer experience through
mobile device solutions, extended service contracts, vehicle
protection services, renters insurance, lender-placed insurance
products and other specialty products.
Learn more at assurant.com or on X (formerly Twitter)
@Assurant.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231115959730/en/
Media: Stacie Sherer Vice President, Corporate
Communications 917.420.0980 stacie.sherer@assurant.com
Investor Relations: Sean Moshier Vice President, Investor
Relations 914.204.2253 sean.moshier@assurant.com
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