Penn National executive leadership succession announced
Penn National Insurance reported that president & CEO Christine Sears will transition on Jan. 1 from president & CEO to CEO, and executive VP & COO Robert B. Brandon will become president on that date. Sears also announced that she plans to retire on Aug. 31 from the company. Upon Sears’ Aug. 31 retirement, Brandon will become president & CEO, and Sears will remain on the company’s board of directors.
Sears joined Penn National Insurance in 1980 as a financial analyst and progressed through the Financial Division, becoming senior VP & CFO in 1999. Subsequent promotions included:
- member of the company’s board of directors in 2002
- executive VP & CFO in 2007
- executive VP and COO in 2010
- president & CEO in 2014
Brandon joined Penn National Insurance in 1995 as a property underwriting line of business manager and progressed through the Commercial Lines Division, becoming VP – Commercial Lines in 2002. Subsequent promotions included:
- vice president – Underwriting Operations in 2005
- senior vice president—Underwriting Operations in 2010
- executive VP and COO in 2014
Brandon earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Millersville University, and within the property-casualty insurance industry he earned the Chartered Property-Casualty Underwriter designation and the Associate in Risk Management designation from The Institutes. He also completed the Insurance Executive Development Program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.
Also effective Jan. 1, John Foster, vice president – Underwriting Operations, has been named senior VP – Insurance Operations, with the following areas reporting to him:
- Commercial Lines
- Personal Lines
- Field Operations
- Claims
- Analytics
- Customer Experience
