Cincinnati Financial Corporation announced on Monday that Jacob F. Scherer Jr., chief insurance officer and executive vice president of its lead subsidiary, The Cincinnati Insurance Company, plans to retire in August 2019.

In a media statement about Scherer’s retirement and related leadership changes, Steven J. Johnston, president and chief executive officer, said that Scherer guided the development of “a new generation of leaders ready to keep the company moving forward,” instilling the future leaders “with the clear understanding of the advantages we earn through our unwavering support of the independent agency system.”

“Uniting our property/casualty operations under J.F.’s leadership fostered a high level of collaboration that’s allowed our company to advance our growth, our profitability and our service to agents,” Johnston added.

Leadership changes to be effective Jan. 1, 2019, include:

• Stephen M. Spray, senior vice president – Commercial Lines, becoming chief insurance officer and assuming executive oversight of the company’s property/casualty insurance operations.
• Sean M. Givler, CIC, CRM, senior vice president – Sales & Marketing, assuming leadership of the company’s commercial lines operations.
• Angela O. Delaney, assistant secretary – Sales Field, assuming leadership of property/casualty insurance sales and marketing operations.

Spray has almost 30 years of industry experience, having previously served as an agent, an underwriter and a field marketing representative. Spray also helped establish the company’s excess and surplus lines operations, created the Target Markets division and led property/casualty sales and marketing.

Givler, who has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility over his more than 20 years with the company in underwriting and field sales, was most recently the senior executive responsible for relationships with the company’s independent agents and for the execution of its field strategy.

Delaney currently oversees field marketing representatives and agency relationships in Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington. The 30-year veteran of the industry has held positions of increasing authority and responsibility in field sales since joining the company in 1998. She was appointed as an officer of Cincinnati Insurance earlier this year.

Source: Cincinnati Financial Corporation