Birmingham-based Protective Life Corporation this week announced that Michael J. Morrissey has been appointed chairman of its board of directors. Morrissey has served on Protective’s board since May 2020.
He is the former president and CEO of the International Insurance Society (IIS).
“Serving as a member of the Protective Board of Directors for the past year has been a privilege, and I’m honored to now serve as Chairman of the Board,” stated Morrissey. “As we navigate an industry full of opportunities, Protective has a strong leadership team in place, and I’m looking forward to continuing our work to build the business for the future and deliver on promises to customers.”
Prior to joining the IIS, where he served as president and CEO for more than a decade, Morrissey was chairman and CEO of Firemark Investments. As a founder of Firemark, he was also the chief investment officer for the company and portfolio manager of the Firemark Tiger Fund. Before establishing Firemark, Morrissey was president of Manhattan Life Insurance Co. and senior vice president of Crum & Forster.
He is currently a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of Selective Insurance Group and has chaired its Finance, Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees. He is also an insurance working group member of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a special advisor to the Asia Pacific Financial Forum and a member of the board of governors of the Asia Pacific Risk & Insurance Association.
Morrissey previously was a member of the board of overseers of the St. John’s University of School of Risk Management and the steering committee of the Insurance Development Forum — a public/private partnership of the insurance industry, the United Nations and the World Bank. He was also a member of the steering committee of the World Economic Forum’s Mitigating Risk in the Innovation Economy initiative. Morrissey holds a B.A. from Boston College and an MBA from Dartmouth, and he has completed the Harvard Business School Corporate Finance Program. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst and former president of the Association of Insurance and Financial Analysts.
Stepping into the role of chairman, Morrissey succeeds W. Michael Warren, Jr., who had served as chairman of Protective’s board since November 4, 2019. Warren will continue serving on the board, as he has since 2001. He is CEO of Children’s of Alabama.
Protective has been headquartered in Birmingham since its founding in 1907; it is now a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
