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Lafayette Life CEO since 1997 retiring
(Journal and Courier)New chief will split time with Cincinnati job
By Joe Gerrety
jgerrety@journalandcourier.com
The Lafayette Life Insurance Co. chief executive officer who led the 100-year-old company through a merger earlier this year announced his retirement Thursday.
Robert J. Gibbons, 63, is stepping down after eight years as Lafayette Life chairman and chief executive.
During Gibbons' tenure, Lafayette Life, with 185 employees and assets of $2.01 billion, reorganized into a mutual insurance holding company and merged with the Cincinnati-based Western & Southern Financial Group, which has 4,600 employees and assets of $38 billion.
Lafayette Life also increased its asset base to move into the top 25 percent of all U.S. life insurers, and broadened its offerings to include policies that provide for estate planning, annuities, retirement income, pension or profit-sharing plans and cash accumulation.
With Gibbons' departure, Lawrence L. Grypp (pronounced "grip"), chief executive officer of Columbus Life Insurance, a Cincinnati subsidiary of Western & Southern, will become chief executive of Lafayette Life. Grypp will reside in Cincinnati but split his work time between Lafayette and Cincinnati, according to John F. Barrett, chief executive of Western & Southern.
Barrett, also based in Cincinnati, becomes the new chairman of Lafayette Life.
William F. Olds, senior vice president and a 28-year veteran of Lafayette Life, assumes the role of chief operating officer in Lafayette, managing day-to-day operations.
The changes become effective Jan. 2.
Gibbons will continue to have a presence at Western & Southern as a consultant on mergers and acquisitions.
"We have the experience on both sides of that equation, and I know a lot of people in the industry who we think would be good candidates for possibly joining the organization," said Gibbons, who has 35 years of experience in the insurance industry.
He and his wife, Carol, plan to spend most of their time with their young grandchildren in Florida.
Olds said Lafayette Life's executives will continue the company's commitment to the community and will continue to focus on Lafayette Life's business strengths.
"Our plans are to continue 100 more years of excellence in the financial arena," Olds said. "Obviously, post-merger, with the tremendous backing that we have from Western & Southern - both financially and with the ratings - we plan to do bigger and better things, too."
PHOTO CAPTIONS: Gibbons, Barrett, Olds
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