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Mathas succeeds Sy Sternberg, who had remained chairman of the board of directors in a non-executive capacity following his retirement June 30, 2008.

Effective Monday, Ted Mathas will assume the position of chairman of the board of New York Life Insurance Company, according to a statement issued by the carrier. Mathas will retain the role of CEO, which he took on July 1, 2008.

Mathas succeeds Sy Sternberg, who had remained chairman of the board of directors in a non-executive capacity following his retirement June 30, 2008. Mathas will be the 13th chairman of New York Life since the position was established in 1931. The company was founded in New York City in 1845 and today New York Life is the 76th largest company in the United States, according to a 2009 Fortune ranking.

"I'm honored to become chairman of New York Life, which is committed to delivering on our promises to millions of policyholders and maintaining the most successful career agency system in the United States," Mathas says. "I'm especially proud of how our company has prepared for and withstood the global financial crisis."

Mathas joined New York Life in June 1995 as an officer in the Asset Management Department. He became President of Eagle Strategies Corp., a registered investment subsidiary, in September 1996. In May 1997, Mathas took on the additional position of President of NYLIFE Securities Inc., a retail broker-dealer subsidiary. He was promoted to senior vice President in September 1998, and in June 1999, he became chief operating officer in the agency department at New York Life. He became chief operating officer for Life and Annuity in April 2001 and was elected executive vice president in January 2004, when he was named co-head of U.S. Insurance Operations. Effective July 1, 2006, Mathas became chief operating officer and was elected a member of the company's board of directors with the title of vice chairman of the board. He was elected president of New York Life effective July 1, 2007 and chief executive officer effective July 1, 2008 and in February 2009, was elected chairman of the board, effective June 1, 2009. Since 2002, Mr. Mathas has been a member of the company's Executive Management Committee, comprises New York Life's senior executive leadership and assists the CEO in setting policy for the company. He also serves on the board of the American Council of Life Insurers.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio