Chairman and CEO of MetLife, Robert Benmosche, has revealed that he is to retire in the spring of 2006. As a result, the life insurer has elected Robert Henrikson to the board of directors and named him to succeed the current MetLife chief.
Rob Henrikson will move to the chief executive’s office from his current position of president and COO, overseeing all of MetLife’s revenue-generating businesses, which he took up in June 2004. Henrikson will take with him considerable experience as he has also held numerous other executive positions, including president of MetLife’s US Insurance and Financial Services businesses from 2002 to 2004, during more than 33 years service with MetLife.
Commenting on the decision, future MetLife CEO Henrikson said, With the successful transformation of the company’s culture and the focusing of our business strategy in the past several years under Bob’s (Benmosche) leadership, MetLife can look ahead to a new era of growth as we serve the financial security needs of Americans and an expanding global middle class.
With current demographic trends and the shift toward greater reliance on individual responsibility for retirement and other financial planning needs, our core businesses, including life insurance and annuities, have never been more relevant.