RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) today announced that its board of directors has selected Thomas J. McInerney as the company's president and chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2013. He also will be elected to the Genworth board of directors. James S. Riepe will continue to serve as the company's non-executive chairman of the board. 

McInerney has a long history in financial services businesses, previously holding senior leadership positions at both ING Groep and Aetna Financial Services. Most recently, he served as an advisor to The Boston Consulting Group. At ING, he was chief operating officer and a member of the Management Board for Insurance, responsible for the worldwide insurance and investment management businesses, encompassing some €425 billion of assets and 35,000 employees. Prior to that, he served as CEO of ING Americas, overseeing insurance, pension, and investment management businesses in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. 

At Aetna for more than 20 years prior to ING, McInerney last served as president of Aetna Financial Services. He was responsible for Aetna's market-leading retirement services, life insurance and annuities, and investment management businesses. As vice president of strategy, he was deeply involved in the transformation of Aetna through the sale of its Property and Casualty business and subsequent acquisition of U.S. Healthcare.

McInerney graduated with honors from Colgate University in 1978 with a BA in Economics and received an MBA with a concentration in Finance and Investments from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in 1982. For many years, he has been active with the American Council of Life Insurers and the Financial Services Roundtable, serving on each association's board and CEO committee.  

"We are very pleased to have someone with Tom McInerney's breadth of experience and record of achievement step into this role at Genworth," said Riepe.  "With his extensive expertise in insurance and investment management, exposure to the global financial services markets, and proven track record of execution, Tom will provide strong leadership at this important time for the company as we continue towards our goal of rebuilding value for our shareholders and other stakeholders."

"I'm honored to join Genworth," said McInerney, "and looking forward to working with its talented team of senior leaders and employees. It is clear that everyone at Genworth is focused on sustaining its reputation for delivering high quality products and service to its clients and distribution partners."

Speaking on behalf of Genworth's board of directors, Riepe said, "We thank Marty Klein for his achievements as our acting CEO and appreciate his contributions since his appointment earlier this year.  We look forward to continuing to work with him as he reassumes his full-time role as Genworth's chief financial officer. We are also grateful to Pat Kelleher and Kevin Schneider for their leadership of our two major business units during this transition. They have made great strides during a challenging period in strengthening the foundations of our Life Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance and Global Mortgage Insurance businesses.  Under Marty, Pat, and Kevin's leadership, we have made significant progress developing and executing a strategic plan to build shareholder value." 

About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 insurance holding company dedicated to helping people secure their financial lives, families and futures.  Genworth has leadership positions in offerings that assist consumers in protecting themselves, investing for the future and planning for retirement -- including life insurance, long term care insurance, financial protection coverages, and independent advisor-based wealth management -- and mortgage insurance that helps consumers achieve home ownership while assisting lenders in managing their risk and capital.

Genworth has approximately 6,300 employees and operates through three divisions: Insurance and Wealth Management, which includes U.S. Life Insurance, Wealth Management and International Protection segments; Global Mortgage Insurance, which includes U.S. and International Mortgage Insurance segments; and the Corporate and Runoff division. Its products and services are offered through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sales specialists. Genworth Financial, Inc., which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, visit genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth Financial, Inc. releases important information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors" section of genworth.com.

SOURCE Genworth Financial, Inc.