Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ), a leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases, today announced the formation of its future Management Committee (MCOM), which was named by Assurant president and incoming CEO Keith Demmings and becomes effective in January 2022. The Management Committee will comprise business, centers of excellence (COE) and functional leaders, and will have responsibility for driving the company’s business growth and innovation strategy to deliver outperformance.

Three new Management Committee members were named today, including Manny Becerra, who was recently named Assurant’s first chief innovation officer, Biju Nair, recently named president, Global Connected Living and Martin Jenns, today named president, Global Automotive. The current MCOM members, with the exception of COO Gene Mergelmeyer who recently announced his retirement, will continue as part of Demmings’ executive leadership team, as he assumes the CEO role in January 2022. In addition, Kelli Ertel has been appointed chief of staff to accelerate the effectiveness of the MCOM, while creating alignment across the leadership team to enable successful execution of the company’s top priorities.

“Our focus as a Management Committee will be to enable greater joint planning across our businesses and functional shared services, empowering us to unlock our full potential, while also bringing greater effectiveness to our operations to deliver outperformance,” said Demmings. “With momentum across our business, our aim is to continue to sustain engagement among our employees and continue to deliver on our strategic imperatives for the benefit of all of our customers, communities and shareholders.”

In 2020, Jenns was named to lead transformation and growth for the company’s global automotive business. He had spent 10 years with Assurant, originally beginning in 2003, holding several positions including leading business development, global product management and heading marketing in Europe. After leaving to serve as president of Service Group, he returned to Assurant in 2019 to play a leadership role focused on strategic transformation. His deep knowledge and experience of all aspects of the business, together with his time as president of Service Group, gives him a great foundation as he assumes the role as president, Global Automotive, beginning in January 2022. John Laudenslager will assume a new role of president, US Automotive, enabling him to focus his time exclusively on the company’s US automotive client work, which represents the vast majority of Assurant’s current global automotive business.

“Martin has had great success in different strategic roles at Assurant, and I have every confidence in his ability to grow our global auto business around the world,” added Demmings. “Our strengths in training and progress in EV also provide tremendous opportunities for Martin and his team to innovate for our clients.”

Martin Jenns - biography

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) is a leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases. Anticipating the evolving needs of consumers, Assurant partners with the world’s leading brands to develop innovative products and services and to deliver an enhanced customer experience. A Fortune 500 company with a presence in 21 countries, Assurant offers mobile device solutions; extended service contracts; vehicle protection services; renters insurance; lender-placed insurance products; and other specialty products. The Assurant Foundation strengthens communities by supporting charitable partners that help protect where people live and can thrive, connect with local resources, inspire inclusion and prepare leaders of the future.

Learn more at assurant.com or on Twitter @AssurantNews.