MEMIC Gift Creates Endowed Chair for University's Risk Management Program

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | 0

The University of Southern Maine is establishing an endowed chair in risk management and insurance named after the founding chief executive officer of MEMIC, the carrier announced Tuesday.

John T. Leonard

MEMIC said the John T. Leonard Endowed Chair in Risk Management and Insurance is only the second endowed chair since the university was founded in 1878.

An endowed chair is a position permanently paid for by revenue from an endowment fund set up for that purpose. MEMIC said it has pledged $300,000 in each of the next five years for the endowed chair and is soliciting donations from other partners.

Leonard was recruited to help found MEMIC in 1993. He announced last year that he will retire this September.

“As the first and only president and CEO of MEMIC, John Leonard turned a company that had no assets except for a $500,000 line of credit loan into a $1.3 billion company with offices all the way down the East Coast,” MEMIC Board Chairman David M. Labbe stated in a press release. “John has built a great company that not only serves employers here in Maine by driving down the overall cost of workers’ comp, but is also contributing mightily to our economy as an important employer in the region. As the company continues its growth, it will have a clear need for more people who have education about risk management.”

MEMIC said roughly 50% of the insurance industry's workforce is expected to retire within the next 15 years. 

“Maine is aging fast, and the insurance industry is aging even faster,” stated Michael P. Bourque, who will replace Leonard as president and CEO in September. “Now is the time to invest in the next generation in this industry. These are good jobs and the industry is poised to grow here in Maine.”

MEMIC said there is only one other program in New England similar to USM’s Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) program, which was launched in 2008 through a collaboration with MEMIC and other industry partners. The endowed chair will double the capacity of the RMI program, the carrier said.