Appointments to become effective upon completion of ACE’s acquisition
of Chubb
ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE) announced today the leadership team it intends
to appoint for the company’s North America excess and surplus (E&S)
lines wholesale business upon the completion of the acquisition of
Chubb. The business will be called Westchester, a Chubb company, and it
will include wholesale business currently written in ACE Westchester,
ACE Commercial Risk Services, Chubb Custom Market, Chubb Specialty
Insurance and Chubb Commercial Insurance. The acquisition is expected to
close in the first quarter of 2016.
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Bruce Kessler will serve as Senior Vice President of the new Chubb Group and Division President of Westchester (Photo: Business Wire)
As
previously announced, Bruce Kessler will serve as Senior Vice
President of the new Chubb Group and Division President of Westchester.
He will be responsible for integrating the E&S, small commercial and
programs businesses within ACE and Chubb, focusing on the company’s
wholesale distribution partners. Mr. Kessler will continue to report to
John Lupica, who, as
previously announced, will serve as Vice Chairman of the new Chubb
Group and President, North America Major Accounts and Specialty
Insurance.
The company also announced that David Lupica will serve as Chief
Operating and Distribution Management Officer. Reporting to Mr. Lupica,
who is currently Division President of ACE Commercial Risk Services,
will be the small commercial group, which will include the wholesale,
micro specialty and programs businesses currently written by ACE
Commercial Risk Services, Chubb Commercial Insurance and Chubb Specialty
Insurance. Mr. Lupica will report to Mr. Kessler.
Westchester will also continue its focus on the Property, Casualty,
Professional Risk, Inland Marine, Environmental and Product Recall lines
of business for wholesale distribution partners. Leading these
businesses and continuing to report to Mr. Kessler are the following
individuals:
-
Bob Meyer will lead Property and Inland Marine. Mr. Meyer is currently
Division President, ACE Westchester Property.
-
Dean Andrighetto will lead Casualty. Mr. Andrighetto is currently
Division President, ACE Westchester Casualty.
-
Joseph Casey will lead Professional Risk. Mr. Casey is currently
Division President, ACE Westchester Professional Risk. Mr. Casey will
also report to Scott Meyer, who, as
previously announced, will serve as Division President, North
America Professional Lines.
-
Rob Owens will lead Environmental. Mr. Owens is currently Senior Vice
President, ACE Westchester Environmental.
-
Florian Beerli will lead Product Recall. Mr. Beerli is currently
Senior Vice President, ACE Westchester Product Recall.
Leading the small commercial group and reporting to David Lupica are the
following individuals:
-
David Charlton will lead the Micro Specialty business. Mr. Charlton is
currently President, ACE Commercial Risk Services Specialty & Micro
Products.
-
Franklin Sanders, Jr., will lead the Programs business. Mr. Sanders is
currently Senior Vice President, Chubb Programs Business Management.
"I’m very pleased to have this seasoned and talented group of leaders
that I expect will continue to generate strong results as we broaden our
capabilities in the wholesale market, invest in new technologies and
build out our distribution,” said Mr. Kessler. “I am fortunate to have a
team in which I have the fullest confidence to achieve our ambitious
targets for growth and profitability."
“Westchester’s commitment to the wholesale market is demonstrated by the
future additions of the small business specialty and programs
leadership,” said John Lupica. “Bruce and his expanded team will focus
on building out the combined product portfolio of Chubb and ACE in order
to position Westchester as the specialty insurer of choice for a broad
array of challenging risks.”
About ACE Group
ACE Group is one of the world’s largest multiline property and casualty
insurers. With operations in 54 countries, ACE provides commercial and
personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and
supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a
diverse group of clients. ACE Limited, the parent company of ACE Group,
is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACE) and is a component
of the S&P 500 index. Additional information can be found at: www.acegroup.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All forward-looking statements made in this communication, related to
the acquisition of Chubb, potential post-acquisition performance or
otherwise, reflect ACE’s current views with respect to future events,
business transactions and business performance and are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements
by words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” ”expect,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,”
“continue,” “could,” “future,” “project” or other words of similar
meaning. All forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ, possibly
materially, from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction involving ACE
and Chubb, including future financial results; ACE’s and Chubb’s plans,
objectives, expectations and intentions; the expected timing of
completion of the transaction and other statements that are not
historical facts. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ, possibly materially, from those indicated by the forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, the following: the inability to
complete the transaction in a timely manner; the failure to satisfy
other conditions to completion of the transaction, including receipt of
required regulatory approvals; the failure of the proposed transaction
to close for any other reason; the possibility that any of the
anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction will not be realized;
the risk that integration of Chubb’s operations with those of ACE will
be materially delayed or will be more costly or difficult than expected;
the challenges of integrating and retaining key employees; the effect of
the announcement of the transaction on ACE’s, Chubb’s or the combined
company’s respective business relationships, operating results and
business generally; the possibility that the anticipated synergies and
cost savings of the merger will not be realized, or will not be realized
within the expected time period; the possibility that the transaction
may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a
result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management’s
attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; general
competitive, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations;
and actions taken or conditions imposed by the United States and foreign
governments and regulatory authorities. In addition, you should
carefully consider the risks and uncertainties and other factors that
may affect future results of the combined company described in the
section entitled “Risk Factors” in the joint proxy statement/prospectus
dated September 11, 2015, that was delivered to ACE’s and Chubb’s
respective shareholders, and in ACE’s and Chubb’s respective filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that are available
on the SEC’s website, located at www.sec.gov,
including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in ACE’s Annual Report on
Form 10–K for the year ended December 31, 2014, which was filed with the
SEC on February 27, 2015, and “Risk Factors” in Chubb’s Annual Report on
Form 10–K for the year ended December 31, 2014, which was filed with the
SEC on February 26, 2015. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
communication. ACE undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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Source: ACE Limited