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Management Committee

The Management Committee of Assurant consists of the President and Chief Executive Officer, all Executive Vice Presidents of the Company and the Chief Executive Officers of each of Assurant's operating business segments. The Management Committee is ultimately responsible for setting the policies, strategy and direction of the Company, subject to the overall direction and supervision of the board of directors.

Executive Management Committee

Robert B. Pollock

Robert B. Pollock, President and Chief Executive Officer. On March 17, 2006, Mr. Pollock became President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant, succeeding J. Kerry Clayton, who retired after 35 years with the company. Most recently, Mr. Pollock served as Assurant's President and Chief Operating Officer, a role he assumed in July 2005. From January 1999 to June 2005 he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. From 1993 to 1999, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant Employee Benefits. Mr. Pollock began his career as an actuary at CUNA Mutual Insurance Group in 1974. He then joined the Company as a staff actuary at Assurant Employee Benefits in 1981. In July 1992, Mr. Pollock was appointed Senior Vice President, Group Life and Disability at Assurant Employee Benefits. In July 1993, he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant Employee Benefits. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Mr. Pollock was the Chairman of the Disability Insurance Committee for the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) for three years.


Don Hamm

Donald Hamm, Executive Vice President; President and Chief Executive Officer, Assurant Health. Mr. Hamm has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant Health since January 2003. Mr. Hamm first joined Assurant Health in 1982, holding several executive positions until 1993. He then worked as a principal with William M. Mercer, a consultant with Tillinghast-Towers Perrin and as Vice President of the Southeast Region for Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Wisconsin prior to rejoining Assurant Health in 1999 as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hamm is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Life Management Institute.


Michael J. Peninger

Michael J. Peninger, Executive Vice President; Interim Chief Financial Officer, Assurant. Mr. Peninger is currently serving as Interim Chief Financial Officer on behalf of Mr. Camacho, who is currently on administrative leave from Assurant. Mr. Peninger had most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant Employee Benefits, a position he had held since January 1999. Mr. Peninger began his career at Northwestern National Life in 1977 as an actuary. He then joined Assurant Employee Benefits in 1985 as a corporate actuary and has held various positions within the Company. In 1991, Mr. Peninger was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and in 1993 he became Senior Vice President of Finance and Claims of Assurant Employee Benefits. In 1998, Mr. Peninger was appointed Executive Vice President. Mr. Peninger is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.


Bruce Camacho

Philip Bruce Camacho, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Camacho has been Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Assurant since June 2005. From January 2003 to June 2005, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant Solutions. Prior to his appointment as President and CEO, he served as the Company's Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing. Mr. Camacho joined American Bankers in 1990 as Vice President of Information Systems. At the time of the Company's acquisition of American Bankers, he was Executive Vice President, Investor Relations, with responsibility for legal and regulatory affairs, marketing services, licensing, state filings and client administration, as well as investor relations. A certified public accountant, Mr. Camacho has also worked as an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, specializing in insurance in the United States, United Kingdom and the Caribbean.


Lesley Silvester

Lesley Silvester, Executive Vice President. Ms. Silvester has been Assurant's Executive Vice President since January 2001. Ms. Silvester's professional career spans more than two and a half decades, much of which has been in the insurance industry in human resources management, organization development and strategy. Ms. Silvester's experience includes 15 years with different parts of the Company in the United States and with Fortis in Europe, focusing recently on world-wide senior management development, company learning, human resources strategy and post-merger integration. Ms. Silvester is a Graduate Member of the Institute of Personnel Management in the United Kingdom and holds both her F.L.M.I. and American Compensation Association Certification.


Bart Schwartz

Bart Schwartz, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Mr. Schwartz is Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Assurant, Inc. since April of 2008. He previously served as Chief Corporate Governance Officer and Secretary of The Bank of New York Company Mellon Corporation, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., General Counsel and Senior Vice President of The MONY Group Inc., and Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Willis Corroon Corporation. Mr. Schwartz began his legal career in 1978 with Debevoise & Plimpton in New York and later joined the Los Angeles office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Mr. Schwartz serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Corporate Counsel and is a frequent writer and speaker on corporate governance, securities law, mergers and acquisitions and other corporate law topics. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California School of Law and a masters of business administration from Vanderbilt University, Owen School of Management.


Christopher Pagano

Christopher J. Pagano, Executive Vice President and Treasurer; President and Chief Investment Officer, Assurant Asset Management. Mr. Pagano was named Executive Vice President and Treasurer in July 2007 and has been serving as President and Chief Investment Officer, Assurant Asset Management, since January 2005. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Head of Fixed Income, Assurant Asset Management. Mr. Pagano joined Assurant in March 1996. Prior to joining Assurant, he served as Vice President at Merrill Lynch, where his latest role was as the government strategist in global fixed income research. He began his career at Morgan Stanley in 1985. Mr. Pagano received a bachelor of science in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1985. He earned his master of business administration in 1995 from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business. Mr. Pagano is a Chartered Financial Analyst.


S.  Lemasters

S. Craig Lemasters, President and Chief Executive Officer, Assurant Solutions. Mr. Lemasters has been Assurant Solutions' President and Chief Executive Officer since June 2005. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Lemasters served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the consumer protection solutions business line of Assurant Solutions. Between 1987 and 1998, he served as a Channel executive and Marketing Manager for various American Bankers businesses at the Company's Miami headquarters. After two years as Executive Vice President with Reliance Integramark, Mr. Lemasters rejoined Assurant in August 2000 as Group Senior Vice President, International Channel and was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer in June 2001.


Gene Mergelmeyer

Gene Mergelmeyer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Assurant Specialty Property. Mr. Mergelmeyer was named President and Chief Executive Officer, Assurant Specialty Property in July 2007. He previously served as Executive Vice President, Assurant Specialty Property and led Assurant Specialty Property's creditor-placed homeowners division since 1999. Mr. Mergelmeyer has over 27 years experience in financial services and insurance. Prior to joining Assurant, Mr. Mergelmeyer was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Insureco, Inc. which was acquired by Assurant in 1997. Previously, he held senior management positions at a division of Transamerica and at public accountants Peat Marwick (now KPMG). He is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach.