Prudential Financial Announces Leadership Succession Plan; CEO to Retire
September 13, 2018 by David Pilla
NEWARK, N.J. – Charles Lowrey will be the next chief executive officer of Prudential Financial Inc. as the company announced John Strangfeld will retire as CEO on Nov. 30.
Lowrey will also become a member of the board of directors effective Dec. 1, Prudential said in a statement. Lowrey is currently executive vice president and chief operating officer, international businesses.
Strangfeld will be non-executive chairman of the board of directors until April 5, 2019, at which time Lowrey will also become chairman, the company said.
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The board also said Robert Falzon, EVP and chief financial officer, will be vice chairman effective Dec. 1. Falzon will succeed Mark Grier, who will retire from Prudential and step down from the board in August 2019. At that time, Falzon will join the board.
“Grier will transfer his functional management responsibilities to Falzon on Dec. 1, 2018, and will support Falzon and Lowrey in their transitions, as well as focus on concluding some specific strategic projects,” Prudential said.
The company said as part if its succession planning process, it will announce the selection of internal candidates to replace Lowrey and Falzon and expects to name a new chief operating officer, international businesses, and a new chief financial officer “next week.”
“The executive appointments announced today are the culmination of rigorous succession planning that the board has been engaged in for the past several years and are modeled in part after the roles John and Mark established working together as chairman and CEO and vice chairman, respectively, over the past decade,” said Thomas Baltimore, lead independent director of Prudential’s board, in a statement.
Strangfeld said in a statement Lowrey “is the right leader for Prudential’s future” as Lowrey had “successfully led our asset management, U.S. and international businesses.” Strangfeld added Falzon will assume the role of vice chairman and join Lowrey as a member of Prudential’s Office of the Chairman.
“After a fulfilling 41-year career at Prudential, including almost 11 years as chairman and CEO, now is the right time for the company to transition to its next generation of leadership,” said Strangfeld.
Prudential said Strangfeld’s retirement concludes a four-decade career with the company, including serving as chairman and CEO since 2008. Under Strangfeld’s leadership, Prudential “emerged as a premier provider of retirement, investment management and financial protection solutions for both individuals and institutions.”
The company said among its achievements under Strangfeld, it became one of the 10-largest global asset managers, contributing to $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2018. It also completed more than $100 billion in pension risk transfer transactions, “establishing Prudential as an innovative leader in this space.”
One example of this was in February, when Prudential Insurance Company of America, part of Prudential Financial, agreed to assume about $1.8 billion of annuity liabilities held by U.K.-based Scottish Widows (Best’s News Service, Feb. 5, 2018). It was the first longevity reinsurance agreement between the companies.
Underwriting affiliates of Prudential Financial Inc. have current Best’s Financial Strength Ratings of A+ (Superior).
Shares of Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU) were trading at $96.76 on the afternoon of Sept. 12, down 0.92% from the previous close.
(By David Pilla, news editor, BestWeek: David.Pilla@ambest.com)
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