Genworth Announces Two Leadership Changes in Mortgage Insurance Businesses

RICHMOND, Va., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) announces that it has named U.S. Mortgage Insurance President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kevin Schneider as president and CEO of its recently formed Global Mortgage Insurance division, effective immediately.  In this capacity, Schneider also has been named an executive vice president of the company. U.S. Mortgage Insurance Chief Commercial Officer Rohit Gupta will succeed Schneider as president and CEO of U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI).  

Schneider, 50, joined Genworth in 2003 and has more than 28 years of experience in financial services and mortgage insurance.  Prior to joining Genworth, he held various leadership positions at GE Capital, GATX Corp, and Ryder System. Schneider received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Master of Management degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg Business School.

"I'm very pleased that Kevin will assume leadership of our Global Mortgage Insurance division—his background, industry depth, and experience navigating a very difficult U.S. market make him a strong fit for this position," said Martin P. Klein, Genworth Acting CEO.  "The Global Mortgage Insurance division brings together all of our mortgage insurance units, improving operating synergies while enhancing the transparency of the businesses for investors and other stakeholders."

As leader of Genworth's Global Mortgage Insurance division, created by the company's re-segmentation of its businesses in the fourth quarter of 2011, Schneider will seek to maximize the benefits of being the only truly global mortgage insurer, taking advantage of the operational, commercial, and financial synergies that exist across Genworth's MI businesses, while continuing to develop the division's capabilities in the countries with the strongest mortgage insurance market potential.

Gupta, 37, joined Genworth in 2003, bringing deep strategic, analytic, and commercial skills from previous leadership roles at General Electric and FedEx.  He received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee and an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Champaign.  

"Rohit brings a strong combination of deep strategic, technical, and leadership skills to the USMI role," Klein continued.  "Since joining Genworth in 2003, he has made a significant impact on the business and our customers, progressing through a number of roles."  Gupta will continue our efforts to drive USMI's agenda to return to profitability and take advantage of today's attractive mortgage insurance market. 

In addition to Rohit Gupta, also reporting to Schneider will be Jerome Upton, who will become Global MI chief financial and operations officer; Ellie Comerford, president and CEO of Genworth Australia; Angel Mas, president and CEO of MI Europe; and the Global MI functional leaders. Schneider also will have responsibility for Genworth's majority investment in its publicly listed Canadian entity, Genworth MI Canada, led by Brian Hurley, chairman and CEO. 

About Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 insurance holding company dedicated to helping people secure their financial lives, families and futures.  Genworth has leadership positions in offerings that assist consumers in protecting themselves, investing for the future and planning for retirement -- including life insurance, long term care insurance, financial protection coverages, and independent advisor-based wealth management -- and mortgage insurance that helps consumers achieve home ownership while assisting lenders in managing their risk and capital.

Genworth has approximately 6,400 employees and operates through three divisions: Insurance and Wealth Management, which includes U.S. Life Insurance, Wealth Management and International Protection segments; Global Mortgage Insurance, which includes U.S. and International Mortgage Insurance segments; and the Corporate and Runoff division. Its products and services are offered through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sales specialists. Genworth Financial, Inc., which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, visit genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth Financial, Inc. releases important information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors" section of genworth.com. 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "will" or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for the company's future business and financial performance. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially due to global political, economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors and risks.  The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SOURCE Genworth Financial