NEW YORK, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Assurant, Inc. ('Assurant') (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services, today announces the appointment of Lawrence V. Jackson, former president and chief executive officer, global procurement division, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ('Wal-Mart'), to its board of directors, effective July 1, 2009.
'Lawrence Jackson is a highly respected executive who brings nearly 30 years of management experience to the Assurant board of directors,' says Robert B. Pollock, Assurant's president and chief executive officer. 'His senior leadership roles with some of the world's biggest and best known consumer-based companies make him a valued new advisor, as we continue to build upon our diversified, specialty insurance strategy.'
Jackson, 55, currently serves as senior advisor with New Mountain Capital, LLC, a private equity fund based in New York. When he served as president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart's global procurement division, he oversaw sourcing and purchasing of merchandise including quality and ethical sourcing in 28 countries. While with the retail giant, he also served as executive vice president, people division, where he oversaw all aspects of human resources for 1.7 million employees.
Previously in his career, Jackson was president and chief operating officer of Dollar General Corporation, where he managed all aspects of store operations, merchandising, new store development and supply-chain logistics. He also served as senior vice president, supply operations, for Safeway, Inc. Prior to those positions, Jackson had been with PepsiCo, Inc. for 16 years including serving as senior vice president, worldwide operations, PepsiCo Food Systems, Inc., with responsibility for significant aspects of the company's food service business.
His current board affiliations include Parsons Corporation, where he also serves as chair of the compensation committee and member of the executive committee, ProLogis and OAKLEAF Waste Management, LLC.
A resident of Nashville, Jackson earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard College and a master of business administration degree from Harvard Business School.
In addition to Jackson, the other current members of Assurant's board are: Dr. John M. Palms, chairman of the board of directors of Assurant and a distinguished university professor emeritus and president emeritus of the University of South Carolina; Dr. Robert J.
