Guardian appoints new CEO as Mulligan exits after 10 years

Andrew McMahon will become the new chief executive officer (CEO) and president of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America on October 1 and has joined the board succeeding Deanna Mulligan.

Mulligan will serve as board chair through year-end, when she will retire after leading the company for a decade.

Mulligan joined Guardian in 2008 to lead the company's individual life & disability business. She was named president and chief operating officer in November 2010 and appointed CEO in July 2011.

McMahon joined Guardian in 2017 as executive vice president, strategy and customer development, and took on leadership of the individual markets business in 2019. He was named president in November 2019, and successor to Mulligan in May.

"With Deanna acting as Chair, Guardian is taking the final step in our CEO transition. We thank her for her exceptional leadership over the last 10 years," said Deborah Duncan, Guardian's lead director. "Deanna strengthened the company in so many ways, creating a solid foundation on which Andrew will build the Guardian of the future. Andrew's growth mindset, focus on putting customers first, deep industry experience and digital expertise are critical to our success going forward."

Mulligan said: "I am honored to be named Board Chair, and grateful to everyone at Guardian for their support and hard work over the last 10 years. There is no one better suited than Andrew to take Guardian forward, and I am excited to pass the leadership of Guardian to him. He has proven himself to be a dynamic leader who understands the acceleration of change in our industry and is committed to furthering the values-driven culture that has guided Guardian for 160 years."

McMahon commented: "Thanks to Deanna, I will be operating from a position of strength on day one. She has done so much for Guardian - particularly in shaping its culture and embedding our values in everything we do. My job is to build on those accomplishments, continue to evolve Guardian and find new ways to serve fast-changing consumer and business demands in an increasingly competitive, digitally-driven environment."