GEICO Names New President and COO

Bill Roberts has been named president and chief operating officer of GEICO by the insurer's Board of Directors.

Roberts had been executive vice president, with responsibilities in marketing and advertising, information systems, staff development, field representative sales, telecommunications and the Internet business, since 2000.

"Bill will take on a greater role in managing GEICO's day-to-day operations," says Tony Nicely, who will continue as chairman and CEO, in a statement. "I will continue to be very actively involved in the overall management of the company, but I could not be more confident that Bill is ready to tackle these new responsibilities."

Roberts joined GEICO in 1984 and was VP of marketing from 1985 to 1991. Next he became assistant VP for underwriting and was elected group VP in 1994 and SVP in 1997.

"I'm very excited about this opportunity and look forward to continuing work with Tony as we take on new challenges and build on GEICO's success moving forwards," Roberts adds in the statement.

GEICO, a part of Berkshire Hathaway, has 12 million private passenger auto insurance customers. A request for comment on how this changes oversight of the GEICO IT department was not returned by press time. GEICO named Greg Kalinsky CIO in 2010.

Zarna Patel is a staff writer for InformationWeek's Financial Services brands, which include Bank Systems & Technology, Insurance & Technology and Wall Street & Technology. She received her B.A. in English and journalism from Rutgers University College of Arts and Sciences in ... View Full Bio