The Hartford Names New CEO

Christopher J. Swift, who most recently has served as The Hartford's chief financial officer, has been appointed chief executive officer of The Hartford and a member of the company's Board of Directors. Also, Douglas G. Elliot has been named president. Liam E. McGee, currently chairman, president and chief executive officer, continues in his role as executive chairman of the Board until the company's next annual shareholders' meeting. The Hartford also appointed Beth A. Bombara to succeed Swift as CFO. The appointments are effective July 1, 2014.

According to McGee, "I am proud of what our team has accomplished over the last five years, returning this iconic American company to a strong financial and competitive position and delivering value to shareholders. With our strategic transformation largely complete, it is the right time for the company and me personally to make this transition," he added in a statement.

Swift joined The Hartford in March 2010 and is currently executive vice president and chief financial officer. Previously he held various senior leadership and finance roles at AIG. Swift began his career in public accounting at KPMG LLP focused on financial services and was eventually appointed head of the Global Insurance Industry Practice.

"We will remain focused on executing our strategy to deliver greater shareholder value by profitably growing our Property & Casualty, Group Benefits and Mutual Funds businesses, reducing the size and risk of our legacy annuity block and becoming a more effective and efficient organization," Swift said in a press release.

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Elliot joined The Hartford in April 2011 as president of Commercial Markets. Before that he served as president of Hartford Steam Boiler, a subsidiary of Munich Re, and was a senior advisor with Aspen Insurance Holdings.

Bombara has been president of Talcott Resolution since July 2012 and prior to that served as senior vice president and controller for the company. She joined The Hartford in April 2004. Prior to that, Bombara was a senior manager in Deloitte & Touche LLP's audit practice and was a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP.

Referring to outgoing CEO McGee's contribution, presiding director Thomas A. Renyi noted in the release, "For nearly five years, Liam has successfully led The Hartford through a financial turnaround and strategic transformation that have resulted in a strong, focused company with attractive growth prospects."

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio