press release
Jan. 20, 2012, 10:05 a.m. EST
New York Life Appoints John Kim and Chris Blunt to New Business RolesCompany Further Aligns Operations with Its Strategy Focusing on Life Insurance and Investments, Both Areas of Industry Leadership
NEW YORK, Jan 20, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — –New York Life’s Vaunted Career Agency Force Remains under Veteran Executive Mark Pfaff
New York Life Insurance Company, America’s largest mutual life insurer, announced today the re-organization of the company into two major business units: the Insurance Group and the Investments Group. Executive Vice President Chris Blunt and Executive Vice President John Y. Kim have been named to run these two businesses, which provide protection, wealth accumulation, and guaranteed income products and solutions for millions of Americans.
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Executive Vice President Mark Pfaff, who has run the Agency Department since 2006 and had additional responsibility for life insurance since 2008, will continue to run the company’s agency force of 12,000 career agents. The career agency distribution system is considered New York Life’s most important market differentiator, with agents serving clients in cities and towns across America. New York Life has led the industry for 57 consecutive years in agents qualifying for MDRT(3), the premier association of financial professionals. Qualifying agents demonstrate exceptional professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service. Life insurance sales through the company’s career agency system have increased 32% since 2006 and agency manpower has increased 29% since that time.
Ted Mathas, chairman and CEO of New York Life, said, “This strategic alignment maintains our industry-leading life insurance business as our flagship core business, enhances the prospects of New York Life becoming a true leader in retirement solutions beyond income annuities, where we lead today, and keeps career agency as our defining core distribution system going forward, as it has been throughout our history. We are confident that these moves will enable us to continue to generate strong growth across our business lines, add consumer benefits to our products and solutions, and enhance the long-term strength of our company, all to the benefit of our millions of policyholders.”
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Mr. Mathas said, “This alignment also allows our incredible career agency system to remain the primary focus of its outstanding leader, Mark Pfaff, who has steadily increased the number and productivity of New York Life agents in his five years at the helm of our Agency operations. With his keen sense of purpose and extensive experience in agency management, Mark has led us to the first double-digit market share in new life insurance premium in the company’s long history, an achievement driven almost entirely by our career agents.”
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Messrs. Blunt, Kim and Pfaff are members of New York Life’s Executive Management Committee, which comprises its senior executive leadership and assists the CEO in setting policy for the company.
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Pfaff is a graduate of Manhattan College. He joined New York Life in 1985 as an agent in New Jersey and entered sales management in 1988.
About New York Life
New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States(4) and one of the largest life insurers in the world.
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Pfaff, Mark [MC????]
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Dear John,
I believe that Mark is a member of the Class of 1980.
Mike
McEneney, Mike (MC1953)
[JR: Thanks, Mike. Much appreciated.]
Pfaff, Mark [MC1980]
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