Utica Mutual Insurance Company in New Hartford, New York, announced that at a meeting of the board of directors on Nov. 6, the board approved the nomination of Richard Creedon as the next chief executive officer. Creedon is currently the company’s president and chief operating officer. He will officially step into his new role in February 2016 when current CEO J. Douglas Robinson will retire. Robinson and Creedon will work together for a seamless transition for agent-customers, policyholders and employees, and there will be no disruption to any business during this change, the company said.

Creedon joined Utica in 1998 as assistant vice president and director of workers’ compensation claims. Following his promotion to vice president/senior claims officer in 2001, Creedon assumed responsibility for managing the Claims department. He was named senior vice president in 2003 and assumed the post of general counsel and senior claims officer the following year. He was promoted to executive vice president in 2007, elected to the board of directors in 2012, and in December 2013 was appointed president and chief operating officer.

Robinson joined Utica in 1983 and was promoted to CEO in 2000. He has also been chairman of the boards of directors since 2006. It is his intention to stay on as a member of the boards of directors of all member companies after his retirement as CEO, the company said.

Utica offers personal and commercial insurance products and services. The company’s personal lines cover auto, home, renter’s, motorcycle, boat, snowmobile and identity theft coverage. The commercial lines insures various specialty markets including coverages for the graphic arts industries, educational institutions, volunteer fire departments, religious institutions, libraries, and others. The company sells its products through more than 2,300 independent agents and employs 1,400 people countrywide.