Nippon Life COO Heads to Principal, Replacement Named

Nippon Life Benefits, the New York-based division of Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Company, has named Francine Young COO, replacing the departing Gerald Patterson.

Young has been with the company for almost four years, most recently serving as SVP of distribution and business development. Before that, she was director, marketing and sales for Guardian Life Insurance Company.

Patterson will head to Principal Financial Retirement Investor Services to lead income management and annuity efforts. He had been on a rotational assignment to Nippon since 2008. (Principal owns a stake in Nippon.)

"Fran is a proven leader who has had been a key member of our senior leadership team since the day she arrived," Toshihiro Nakashima, CEO of Nippon Life Benefits, says in a statement. "[Patterson] leaves our organization focused, stable, and ready for the challenges ahead."

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio