Allstate Investments Expands its Senior Leadership Team

Russ Mayerfeld Joins Allstate to Oversee Private Equity, Infrastructure & Real Assets and Real Estate; Peter Keehn Promoted to Managing Director, Private Equity

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The Allstate Corporation

Oct 14, 2014, 11:00 ET

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) has expanded its senior leadership team in investments. Russell K. Mayerfeld has joined Allstate as a senior managing director, reporting to Judith P. Greffin, chief investment officer. Peter Keehn, CFA, has been promoted to managing director, private equity investing, reporting to Mayerfeld.

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"We expect to capture additional higher-returning investment opportunities by leveraging Russ' leadership, broad expertise and extensive experience," Greffin said. "We have an excellent track record, and our team is in a strong position to increase the breadth and size of Allstate's portfolio in these asset classes."

Russ Mayerfeld
Mayerfeld oversees approximately $10 billion of Allstate's investments, including private equity, infrastructure and real assets, real estate and commercial mortgage loans. Throughout his career, he has worked extensively with insurance companies and other financial institutions. Recently, Mayerfeld served as an independent consultant to private equity funds and corporations and as a board member for private and public companies. Mayerfeld was managing director, investment banking of UBS LLC and its predecessors from 1997 to 2003, and managing director, investment banking of Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. from 1988 to 1997. He holds an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois.

"I am delighted to join Allstate Investments," Mayerfeld said. "I look forward to building on the success of the team to position Allstate as an even more dynamic investor in this evolving sector. We will leverage the skills and experience of our alternative investment professionals, as well as the breadth and scale of the Allstate enterprise, to source attractive opportunities. With our size, flexibility and creativity, we will continue to help our portfolio companies achieve their objectives."

Allstate will expand its alternative investment portfolio over the next several years, with much of the growth coming from direct investments. "Allstate will continue to be a fund investor while leveraging its relationships to generate additional direct investments. Ultimately, this dual approach is designed to produce more favorable risk-adjusted returns for the benefit of Allstate's shareholders and policyholders," Mayerfeld said.

Peter Keehn
Keehn will continue to lead Allstate's global private equity investing group, which includes the infrastructure and real assets team, managing a portfolio of approximately $3 billion. Recently, he shifted the focus of Allstate's private equity activities to include more direct investing and co-investments. In 2007, Keehn established Allstate's London office to enhance the firm's global perspective and gain greater access to investment opportunities around the world. He joined Allstate in 2003 as a director to head the company's then $450 million alternative assets portfolio. Earlier in his career, he was a principal at Waud Capital Partners and a director at Northwestern Investment Management Co. Keehn has an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree from Brown University. He is a chartered financial analyst. Keehn serves on several private equity advisory boards and has been a director of numerous private companies and nonprofit organizations.

"I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to continue expanding Allstate's private equity investments and further developing the expertise of our portfolio team," Keehn said. "We see strong opportunities throughout the world in this asset class. It's an important component in the proactive management of Allstate's portfolio to achieve attractive returns for the benefit of our policyholders and shareholders."

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, protecting approximately 16 million households from life's uncertainties through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names and Allstate Financial business segment. Allstate is widely known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With Allstate^®." The Allstate brand's network of small businesses offers auto, home, life and retirement products and services to customers in the United States and Canada. In 2013, The Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its employees and agency owners gave $29 million to support local communities. Allstate employees and agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across the country.