COLUMBUS, Ga., Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated
announced today that it has hired Catherine H. Blades to the newly
created position of senior vice president, Corporate
Communications, Aflac Incorporated, reporting to Audrey Boone Tillman, executive vice president,
Corporate Services, Aflac Incorporated. In her new position, Blades
will define, lead and integrate the implementation of Aflac's
communications strategy to proactively and effectively promote
internal and external communications.
Blades brings more than two decades of leadership experience in
the field of communications to Aflac. Most recently, she served as
chief communications and marketing officer at Flextronics where she
was responsible for several areas, including corporate
communications and public affairs. In addition to serving as
Flextronics' international spokesperson interacting with a variety
of constituents, Blades supervised cross-functional teams in
Asia, Europe and the Americas with an emphasis on
global brand and reputation management. Previously, Blades also
served as vice president of Communications and Public Affairs at
Raytheon Company's Space and Airborne Systems business.
Additionally, she was responsible for international and marketing
communications at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and held various
other communications-related leadership positions. Blades earned a
bachelor of arts degree in mass communications from the University
of Southwestern Louisiana and is a
Loyola University Environmental
Communications Fellow.
Aflac Incorporated Executive Vice President of Corporate
Services Audrey Boone Tillman
commented, "Over the last several decades, Aflac has established a
strong reputation for transparency in our communications, and we
view this as a critical element of our success. As we continually
strive to strengthen every aspect of our business, we are thrilled
that Catherine has joined the Aflac team. I believe her
wide-ranging communication experience, combined with her strong
leadership skills, will strengthen our many facets of
communication. I look forward to her contributions and have no
doubt that she will be instrumental to the future success of
Aflac."
ABOUT AFLAC
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits
fast. For nearly six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given
policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial
stress. In the United States,
Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance.
In Japan, Aflac is the number one
life insurance company in terms of individual policies in force.
Aflac individual and group insurance products provide protection to
more than 50 million people worldwide. For seven consecutive years,
Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of
the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2013, FORTUNE magazine
recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in
America for the 16th consecutive year. Also, in 2013, FORTUNE
magazine included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for
the 12th time, ranking the company number one in the life and
health insurance category. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500
company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL.
To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com or
espanol.aflac.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides
a "safe harbor" to encourage companies
to provide prospective information, so long as those informational
statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by
meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those included
in the forward-looking statements. We desire to take advantage of
these provisions. This document contains cautionary
statements identifying important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in
any other statements made by company officials in
communications with the financial community and contained in
documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC).
Forward-looking statements are not based on historical
information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial
results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking
information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and
uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such
as "expect," "anticipate,"
"believe," "goal,"
"objective," "may,"
"should," "estimate,"
"intends," "projects,"
"will," "assumes,"
"potential," "target" or similar
words as well as specific projections of future results,
generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no
obligation to update such forward-looking statements. We caution
readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors
mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking
statements: difficult conditions in global capital markets and the
economy; governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the
financial markets; defaults and credit downgrades of securities in
our investment portfolio; impairment of financial institutions;
credit and other risks associated with Aflac's investment in
perpetual securities; differing judgments applied to investment
valuations; significant valuation judgments in determination of
amount of impairments taken on our investments; limited
availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments;
concentration of our investments in any particular single-issuer or
sector; concentration of business in Japan; increased derivative activities;
ongoing changes in our industry; exposure to significant financial
and capital markets risk; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange
rates; significant changes in investment yield rates; deviations in
actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions;
subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to Aflac Incorporated;
changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities; ability
to attract and retain qualified sales associates and
employees; decreases in our financial strength or
debt ratings; ability to continue to develop and implement
improvements in information technology systems; interruption in
telecommunications, information technology, and other operational
systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or
privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems; changes in U.S.
and/or Japanese accounting standards; failure to comply with
restrictions on patient privacy and information security; level and
outcome of litigation; ability to effectively manage key executive
succession; catastrophic events including, but not necessarily
limited to, epidemics, pandemics, tornadoes, hurricanes,
earthquakes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism and damage incidental to
such events; and failure of internal controls or corporate
governance policies and procedures.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100423/CL92305LOGO
)
Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y.
Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667; FAX: 706.324.6330, or
rwilkey@aflac.com
Media contact – Laura Kane,
706.593.0786; FAX: 706.320.2288, or lkane@aflac.com
SOURCE Aflac Incorporated