March 30, 2020
Braintree, MA
The Board of Directors of MIB Group, Inc. has named Brian Winikoff as President & CEO, effective immediately, to succeed Lee B. Oliphant upon his planned retirement. In addition, Winikoff will become a member of MIB Group, Inc.'s Board of Directors.
Jim Hohmann, Chairman of the MIB Board said: "After a disciplined and extensive search, the Board is excited that Brian is joining MIB as CEO. Brian is a proven and dynamic industry leader, who has broad experience, perspective and relationships across the financial services industry."
Michael C. S. Fosbury, Vice Chairman of the MIB Board said: "Brian is well recognized throughout the financial services and technology industries as a talented and visionary leader who is uniquely qualified to guide MIB at this critical time. We look forward to working with Brian to ensure a smooth and successful transition."
Mr. Winikoff said: "I'm honored to have the opportunity to lead MIB, a long standing leader in providing risk management services to the life and health insurance industry. This is a dynamic time for the insurance industry, and MIB is ideally positioned to play an increasing role supporting our clients' underwriting, risk management and growth goals. I look forward to working with our team to develop and implement transformational strategies to support our clients' objectives while ensuring MIB continues to seamlessly provide the mission critical products and services we offer today."
Prior to joining MIB, Winikoff was Sr. Executive Director and Head of AXA Equitable Holdings' US Life, Retirement and Wealth Management businesses, where he was responsible for leading the company's Life Insurance, Employee Benefits, Individual Annuities, Group Retirement, Mutual Fund, Advisory and Broker-Dealer divisions, which had aggregate revenue of over $10 billion and earnings of over $2 billion. Previously, Winikoff was President & CEO of Crump Life Insurance Services, a leading independent broker and service provider to the life insurance, retirement and health markets. Winikoff began his career as an investment banker with Salomon Brothers stationed in the US and overseas, and held senior management positions with early stage and mature companies focused in the technology and communications industries.
MIB thanks the Board of Directors for their support and extends a special thanks to members of the MIB Search & Compensation Committees for their effort to find the next CEO:
- Jim Hohmann, (Chairman of the Board, Search & Compensation Committees), Chairman & CEO, Fidelity Life Association
- Bruce Baude, Chief Operations & Technology Officer, CNO Financial Group, Inc.
- Dean Del Vecchio, Chief of Operations & Chief Information Officer, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
- Michael C. S. Fosbury, President & CEO, Columbian Mutual Life Insurance Company
- Greg Linde, Senior Vice President — Individual Life, Principal Financial Group
The Board commended Mr. Oliphant for his leadership. Mr. Hohmann commented: "For over two decades, Lee has successfully guided the company and has led the expansion of new value added services to our clients, such as Electronic Health Records. On behalf of the Board and the Membership, we thank Lee for his service and wish him the very best in the future."
Mr. Winikoff said: "I would like to congratulate Lee on his 21 years of service to MIB. I appreciate his support to ensure a smooth transition and wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement."
Winikoff holds a B.A. in Mathematical Economics from Brown University and he recently served on the Board of Directors for LL Global (LIMRA and LOMA).
