J. Eric Smith
J. Eric Smith (born 1957), is the retired President&CEO of Swiss Re Americas.
J. Eric Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 |
| Education | Kellogg School of Management |
Early life
Smith was born in 1957 in Bloomington, Illinois. He holds a degree in finance; and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Career
J. Eric Smith, retired President and CEO Swiss Re Americas, is an American insurance industry executive. Smith joined Swiss Re in July of 2011, he was named to the Swiss Re Group executive committee. He was responsible for Swiss Re’s Property & Casualty and Life & Health reinsurance businesses, and had operational oversight of all Swiss Re's business interests in the Americas as its regional president. He was named to the Business Insurance Hall of Fame in 2019.
Smith has also emphasized the role the reinsurance sector plays in both macro-electronic and microeconomic resilience, especially in uncertain and hazardous conditions like those influenced by climate change and economic difficulty. In January of 2014, Smith spoke at the 2014 Investors Summit on Climate Risk at the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York.
Smith’s career encompasses both the business-to-business and retail sides of the insurance industry. He began his career as multi-line insurance agent with Country Financial in Monticello, Illinois. He spent over 20 years at Country Financial, helping to build its Property & Casualty business as VP of marketing. He joined Allstate and became President of the Allstate Financial Services in 2006, where he was responsible for its agency line of business. He joined USAA as President of USAA Life Insurance Co. in 2009, where he led the effort to broaden access to the company's life and annuity products through direct distribution channels.
Smith served on the Boards of the American Council for Life Insurers (ACLI), American Insurance Association (AIA) and the Financial Services Roundtable (FSR) and is a member of the Committee for Economic Development (CED).
Post retirement, he has served as an independent director of Deutsche Bank Americas, QBE, and Health iQ. He currently is a senior advisor to Jefferies, and an independent director to ORI and Fairmatics.
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