MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced today that Christopher Townsend, 43,
will join the company as head of its Asia region, which consists of
Japan, Korea, Australia, Hong Kong and China. Townsend will report to
the CEO and become a member of the company’s executive management team.
In 2011, MetLife’s Asia region generated $8.7 billion in premiums, fees
& other revenues and more than $850 million in operating earnings.
“Chris will be an outstanding leader of our Asia region,” said Steven A.
Kandarian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of MetLife,
Inc. “He is a proven executive who knows how to drive profitable growth
across multiple distribution channels.”
Townsend, who will be based in Hong Kong, joins MetLife from Chartis, a
leading insurance organization serving more than 70 million clients
around the world. He most recently served as chief executive officer of
the company’s Asia-Pacific region with 4,700 employees in 15 countries.
Townsend previously was chief executive officer of Chartis–Australasia,
with responsibility for the company’s businesses across Australia, New
Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Earlier, he was the CEO for Hong Kong,
head of mergers and acquisitions, and held a number of senior leadership
roles in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Sydney. He joined Chartis in
the United Kingdom in 1991 and has spent more than half of his 21-year
career in the company’s Asia-Pacific region. Townsend has agreed to join
MetLife after a period of time during which he fulfills his existing
obligations to Chartis.
In the fall of 2011, MetLife announced that it was organizing its
business segments by three broad geographic regions – the Americas, EMEA
(Europe/Middle East/Africa), and Asia – and a Global Employee Benefits
business.
“With Chris joining MetLife, we will have experienced leaders in place
in all three of MetLife’s geographic regions and our Global Employee
Benefits business,” Kandarian said. “I am confident they will deliver
strong results for our customers, employees and shareholders.”
MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and
employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers. Through its
subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in
the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle
East.