Betsy Ward has been named chief actuary for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. This is an expansion of her role as chief enterprise risk officer. Ward is succeeding Isadore Jermyn, who is retiring after 34 year with the insurer and more than a decade spent as chief actuary.
"Managing risk is critical to our success and by bringing together our actuarial and risk functions, we are strengthening our ability to help more people secure their future and protect the ones they love," said Roger Crandall, chairman, president and CEO of MassMutual. "Betsy's strong leadership and unwavering dedication to fostering our superior risk and actuarial practices, which are core to our ongoing strength and growth, will benefit this and future generations of policyowners and customers.
As chief enterprise risk officer since 2007, Ward has a well-established track record as a leader in several chief risk officer and industry groups. Ward is a certified professional risk manager and currently is chair of the American Council of Life Insurers' Global Risk Management Committee, and a founding member of the North American CRO Council, where she was vice chairman for three years. She has also been a member of the American Academy of Actuaries since 1990, and a Fellow of Society of Actuaries since 1993.
Ward has also been a contributor to the International Association of Insurance Commissioners' ComFrame initiative, a set of international supervisory requirements focused on narrowing the gaps between and among global regulatory regimes. She also was recognized as 2014 Chief Risk Officer of the Year by Insurance Risk magazine, a publication dedicated to insurance risk management issues.
"I want to thank Isadore for his immeasurable contributions to our company," Crandall said. "Throughout his tenure, Isadore always conducted himself with the highest integrity and has worked tirelessly as a steward of MassMutual, putting our policy owners' and customers' long-term interests first and foremost. I am confident that Betsy will carry on that tradition."
Previously, Ward was a managing director at Babson Capital Management, a MassMutual affiliate, and later was appointed head of portfolio consulting in the investment management division. She has also held leadership positions at American Skandia, Charter Oak Capital Management, Aeltus Investment Management and Aetna Life & Casualty.
