Zurich’s O’Sullivan to retire

Zurich Financial Services Group has announced that Patrick O’Sullivan will be retiring at the end of April 2009 after 11 years at the company. Mr O’Sullivan first joined Zurich as chief executive officer of general insurance and banking at Zurich’s UKISA business division in 1998 when Zurich Insurance Company merged with the financial services arm of BAT Industries. In December 2002, Mr O’Sullivan became group finance director and a member of the Group Executive Committee. Since March 2007, he has served in his current role as vice chairman of the Group Management Board and chief growth officer and, in addition, he was responsible for the group’s International and Centrally Managed Businesses. Paul Hopkins, chief executive officer of the Americas and chairman of Farmers Group Inc, will assume Group Management Board oversight of the group’s global growth activities. After Mr O’Sullivan’s retirement, Centrally Managed Businesses will report into Global Life and its chief executive officer Mario Greco.