ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 19, 2011 – InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, recently appointed John O’Leary, The Hanover assistant vice president of talent acquisition, to its national board.
“InVEST is pleased to announce John O’Leary has joined the already distinguished group of board members,” says Heather Minkler, InVEST board chair and CEO of Clark-Mortenson Agency, an independent agency in Keene, N.H. “With more than 60% of the insurance industry’s employees over the age of 45, the need to find new talent continues to grow. John brings a valuable skill set and wealth of experience to the InVEST board that will bring us closer to achieving the InVEST mission.”
O’Leary is responsible for managing and executing recruiting strategy for The Hanover. Prior to joining the Hanover, he spent nearly 13 years managing the Providence, R.I. office of The Mergis Group, a recruiting firm that specializes in the placement of professionals in the area of accounting and finance, human resources, engineering, and sales and marketing. He earned several "Performance Forum" awards and was recognized as one of the top performers in the organization. O’Leary received a bachelor's degree in political science from Stonehill College, and at one point, was the youngest elected town councilman in the state of Massachusetts.
“InVEST is critically important to the future of the independent agency system and the entire insurance industry,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) president & CEO. “Survey results from the most recent Agency Universe Study by Future One (a collaboration of the Big “I” and leading independent agency companies) pointed to InVEST as a solution to save the future of the industry, with the majority of respondents stating the insurance industry should encourage high schools and community colleges to help students plan for insurance careers. Educators, volunteers, agents and company representatives, like John O’Leary, are key to the success of this program.”
As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, InVEST benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers and volunteers. The program provides the insurance industry with motivated, talented and intelligent professionals through a support structure of state associations, board members, national staff, teachers and the many industry professionals who work in the field as classroom liaisons.
Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, Va., InVEST promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and community colleges. The high school curriculum is a business-education program that utilizes a hands-on approach which simulates an insurance agency and company operations to prepare students for various business careers and create more knowledgeable insurance consumers. At the college level, InVEST is an information-intensive curriculum of risk management and financial services. These courses provide students with a working knowledge of the basics needed to pursue careers in the insurance industry. For more information, go to www.investprogram.org.
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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