Updated with statement from CEO, and interim assumption of CRO by Genworth’s CFO, cause of death.
Genworth Financial Inc. Chief Risk Officer and Executive Vice President Lori Evangel died unexpectedly this past weekend, the company confirmed. The veteran insurer joined Genworth six years ago this January. Evangel lived in Richmond, according to the company’s website, and had been a risk officer at AFLAC Inc. and MetLife, where she led the global enterprise risk management unit, before joining Genworth.
Kelly Groh, Genworth’s CFO, will be assuming her responsibilities as CRO in the interim, according to a spokeswoman for the insurer.
An obituary in the New York Times said Evangel died of Crohn’s disease on Jan. 20, when she accepted her last assignment “to be with heaven’s angels.” She was 57.
She also lectured at Columbia University School of Professional Studies and was on the board of directors for the Richmond chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Genworth, the nation’s largest long-term care insurer and a top mortgage insurance player, is in a prolonged merger process with China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co., Ltd.
Among other duties, Evangel was part of a team that would meet with state regulators quarterly on the Oceanwide deal, its implications and LTC financial results, according to earnings call transcripts. The $2.7 billion deal was initially announced in October 2016 and is still pending as the companies wait for renewals of approvals from regulators in New York, Virginia and possibly Delaware as well as the federal housing oversight agencies and clearance from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, for the currency conversion and transfer of funds.
According to a note this week to her colleagues from Genworth CEO Tom McInerney, Evangel led the development and implementation of Genworth’s Own Risk Solvency Assessment (ORSA), a financial stress-testing structure, which he said had become an ingrained part of the company’s culture.
“It is with deep sadness that we confirm the passing last weekend of Lori Evangel … Lori was a great friend and exceptional Genworth colleague, and under her leadership, Lori and the Risk Team did outstanding work developing and implementing a strong Enterprise-wide Risk Management system at Genworth,” McInerney said in a statement provided by the company. He detailed her love of animals and contributions to her community.
The online biography on Genworth’s site notes that Evangel, who was highly respected in the industry, graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont and had MBA in Finance from the State University of New York at Albany.
Industry and other mourners have posted on LinkedIn how much she meant to them and how broken-hearted they are at the news of her passing.
Middlebury College in Vermont and had MBA in Finance from the State University of New York at Albany.
Her husband is Chris Evangel, who is listed as managing director and Principal for CLE Global Partners and headed the Securities Valuation Office (SVO) for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for years.
Photo, courtesy of Genworth.
Jan. 23, 2020
WASHINGTON INSURANCE RIDER 