(Bloomberg) -- Chubb Ltd. named John Keogh as president, in a move that Chief Executive Officer Evan Greenberg says is designed to highlight his “critical importance” to the insurer.
Keogh, 56, will retain his role as chief operating officer and continue to report to Greenberg, Chubb said Wednesday in a statement. Keogh’s duties will also remain the same.
Keogh, who has worked at Chubb and a predecessor company for roughly 14 years, has been a key deputy for Greenberg, 65. He helped lead an international business when he first joined Ace, which later became Chubb, and has worked as COO since 2011. Greenberg said the announcement is not about succession.
“This appointment is about much-deserved recognition. He’s an outstanding insurance executive and he is my partner,“ Greenberg said in a phone interview. “I have no plans to retire or curtail my level of engagement in the company in any way and I am as energized and optimistic about our future prospects as I have been at any time.”
Michael Connors, independent lead director, said the company does have a succession plan in place but doesn’t expect it to be used anytime soon. With Keogh and Greenberg, Chubb has two executives who complement each other, he added.
“Our view was that he’s been doing such a terrific job, and this year in particular guiding Chubb through this kind of special event, that we wanted to be able to find a way to recognize John and all that he’s contributed,” Connors said in an interview.
