ZURICH--DEC 21, 2015--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE) announced today the leadership team it intends to appoint for the Boston Region of the company’s North America field organization. The appointments will take effect upon completion of the acquisition of Chubb, which is expected in the first quarter of 2016.
Mitchell C. Schmidt will serve as Senior Vice President, North America Insurance, and Regional Executive Officer (REO) of the Boston Region. Currently, Mr. Schmidt is REO, Northeast, ACE USA. Mr. Schmidt, who was named in an earlier announcement to serve as Regional Chief Operating Officer (RCOO) for the Boston Region, will have responsibilities that were previously announced for John M. Swords, who will be retiring from Chubb at the end of 2015. Mr. Schmidt will report to Harold L. Morrison, Jr., who, as previously announced, will serve as Senior Vice President of the new Chubb Group and Division President, Field Operations for the North America Insurance division.
As REO, Mr. Schmidt will be responsible for executing the underwriting and sales strategies of the new Chubb’s business units, staff management, production, profit and loss, and distribution management in the Boston Region, which will be one of eight North America Insurance regions across the United States and Canada. In addition to his REO duties, Mr. Schmidt will manage the Boston office.
Jeffrey A. Updyke will serve as RCOO of the Boston Region and report to Mr. Schmidt. Currently, Mr. Updyke is Senior Vice President and New Haven Branch Manager for Chubb. In addition to his RCOO duties, Mr. Updyke will manage the New Haven branch office, and the Rochester branch office will report to him.
“Given the wide spectrum of risks that are unique to each region, it's imperative our future field organization is nimble,” said Mr. Morrison. "Mitch and Jeff are talented field leaders who represent the deep bench strength in the Northeast. They possess the management skills, sound industry insights and strong distribution relationships that will help our new organization generate significant profitable growth in that market."
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.
Contact:
ACE Limited
Investors:
Helen Wilson, 441-299-9283
helen.wilson@acegroup.com
or
Media:
Jeffrey Zack, 212-827-4444
jeffrey.zack@acegroup.com