Company: MetLife, New York, NY
Company Description: MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Insurance

Nomination Title: MetLife

Tell the story about what this nominated organization achieved since January 1 2011 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

In 2011 Metlife saw international revenue triple due to reorganization by geography, acquisitions, and global marketing of product lines.

Metlife Identifies 4 Key Strengths That Make it an Industry Leader:

First, we are one of the most geographically diverse insurance companies in the world. Our presence has grown from 17 countries pre-Alico to more than 50 today and now spans 90% of the global insurance market. We have leadership positions in the two largest markets in the world — the United States and Japan. This global presence differentiates us from most of our peers, giving us access to more attractive markets and creating economies of scale.

Second, in addition to being highly diversified by geography, we have exceptional product and distribution diversity. MetLife is not overly dependent on any one product for earnings, and we can adjust our mix to take advantage of market opportunities. We can also leverage our product capabilities around the world.

Third, we have what we believe is the best risk-management culture in the business, which saw us safely through the financial crisis and allowed us to complete the $16.3 billion purchase of Alico.

Fourth, we have one of the strongest brands in the industry, driven by our nearly 145-year history of doing what is right for our customers. We recently re-launched our brand in the United States.

The 2011 results are particularly noteworthy in light of the challenging environment faced by the insurance industry in 2011 — a volatile global economy, declining interest rates, flat equity markets, and natural disasters in the United States and Japan.

MetLife succeeded in 2011 by getting the fundamentals right. Underwriting margins remained solid despite record catastrophes in the U.S. and Japan. In addition, our risk management culture helped our core spreads remain relatively stable despite the low interest-rate environment, largely on the strength of our hedging and asset-liability management programs.

Our acquisition of Alico in November 2010 contributed significantly to our strong results in 2011. When we emerged from the financial crisis as one of the only companies in a position to buy Alico, we said the deal would be accretive to earnings in the first year. It is one of the principal reasons our financial results improved in 2011.

Going Forward

“Looking ahead, I am confident that MetLife’s global operations will continue to drive profitable growth for the company” MetLife CEO Steven Kandarian

The New York-based life insurer forecasts a slightly more optimistic 2012 profit, with operating earnings in the range of $5.1 billion, or $4.80 a share, to $5.6 billion, or $5.20 a share, in the same quarter last year.

Those results would be about a 7% increase over MetLife’s current predictions for 2011 and would be in line with average analyst estimates of $5.10 a share, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.
“MetLife has built a great global presence, and we intend to fully leverage it to further drive earnings growth in 2012,” the CEO said in a statement.

Upload a collection of supporting files and web addresses to our server to provide more background information to the judges. You may upload any number of attachments and URLs through the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above.

http://www.fa-mag.com/fa-news/10419-metlifes-kandarian-will-cut-weakest-units-to-boost-results.html
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/12/05/metlifes-2012-earnings-expected-to-fall-short-estimates/#ixzz1ut2r8uM6
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2358.html
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDU5OTY2fENoaWxkSUQ9NDg3ODQ3fFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1
http://investor.metlife.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=121171&p=irol-newsArticle_print&ID=1661006&highlight=

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated organization:

Mr. Steven A. Kandarian has been the Chairman of the Board of MetLife Inc. since January 1, 2012 and as its CEO and President since May 1, 2011. Previously, Mr. Kandarian served as an Executive VP and Chief Investment Officer at MetLife Inc. He joined MetLife on April 11, 2005. Mr. Kandarian also served as an EVP and CIO at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Asset Management Arm. Mr. Kandarian received a B.A. in Economics from Clark University, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.