US insurer Citizens has appointed Gerald Shields as chief executive officer effective from 1 January.
Shields has been interim CEO since August of 2020 and a member of the firm’s board of directors since 2017. He will remain on the board and continue to serve as vice-chairman, a role he assumed in February 2020.
Shields was chief information officer at FirstCare Health Plans from July 2015 to October 2018 and was senior vice president and chief information officer at American Family Life Assurance Company of New York from 2002 to 2011.
Chip Davis, chairman of the board at Citizens, said: “On behalf of the entire Citizen’s board and management team, we could not be more thrilled to welcome Gerald Shields as our new chief executive officer.
“After considering many impressive candidates, the board has unanimously agreed that Gerald Shields has demonstrated his strength as an effective strategic leader and is the best choice to lead Citizens at this time.
“Gerald has done an outstanding job as interim CEO, stepping in at a pivotal time, bringing to bear his industry and technical expertise to lead the company through a period of transition over the past sixteen months.”
Shields added: “I am honoured and excited that I will be able to continue to lead this outstanding team at this important time in the company’s history.
“Together we have made tremendous progress and have generated strong momentum. While there is still more work to do, we are committed to taking Citizens to new heights.”