COLUMBUS, Ga., Oct. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac
Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) announced today that Hiroshi Yamauchi, who currently serves as
executive vice president of Aflac Japan, will be promoted to
president and chief operating officer of Aflac Japan. Tohru Tonoike, president and chief operating
officer of Aflac Japan, will assume the role of vice chairman of
Aflac Japan. These changes will become effective January 1, 2015.
Yamauchi joined Aflac Japan in 1976 in the Actuarial Department,
where he served in positions of increasing responsibility and
subsequently advanced through the ranks of various other
operational areas. He was promoted to vice president in 1999, to
first senior vice president in 2002 and to the additional role of
chief administrative officer from 2005 to 2009. He assumed his most
recent role as executive vice president in 2012, and his oversight
responsibilities for numerous vital areas include Planning,
Government Affairs & Research, Legal, Corporate Communications,
Human Resources and IT.
Tonoike joined Aflac Japan in early 2007 as deputy president and
was promoted later that year to president and chief operating
officer. Tonoike served on the Aflac board of directors from 2004
until he assumed his role at Aflac Japan in 2007.
Commenting on the announcement, Aflac Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer Daniel P. Amos
said: "Tohru has contributed greatly to our company in so many
ways, including his leadership and dedication to enhancing our
distribution infrastructure with traditional sales agencies, the
bank channel and Japan Post. We will appreciate his support of
Aflac Japan from a broader perspective. At the same time, I know
Hiroshi will continue to do an exceptional job in his new role. He
has 38 years of experience with Aflac Japan, including the last 15
years as a part of the Aflac Japan officer team, that have prepared
him well. He has demonstrated dedicated and effective leadership.
Over the years, Hiroshi has also enhanced vital aspects of our
company with his results-oriented approach, including our framework
for creating products and the customer-driven service we provide.
These critical activities enable us to deliver on our promises to
our policyholders."
Also commenting on the announcement, President of Aflac Paul S. Amos II said: "Having worked in
Japan very closely with Tohru, his
work ethic, leadership and discipline are to be commended and serve
as an example to all. At the same time, I am thrilled to have the
opportunity to work even more closely with Hiroshi. The depth and
breadth of knowledge he has amassed throughout his 38 years with
Aflac will continue to be an asset to the company. Hiroshi has the
skills and determination to help advance our market-leading
position in Japan."
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 leading provider of voluntary insurance at the
worksite. In Japan, Aflac is the
number one life insurance company in terms of individual policies
in force. Aflac individual and group insurance products help
provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For
eight consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere
magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2014,
FORTUNE magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies
to Work For in America for the 16th consecutive year. Also, in
2014, FORTUNE magazine included Aflac on its list of Most Admired
Companies for the 13th 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; exposure to significant financial and capital markets
risk; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; significant
changes in investment yield rates; 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; decline in creditworthiness
of other financial institutions; 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 telecommunication, 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; inability to recognize tax benefits
associated with capital loss carryforwards; 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; ongoing
changes in our industry; events that damage our reputation; and
failure of internal controls or corporate governance policies and
procedures.
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Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y.
Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667; FAX: 706.324.6330, or
rwilkey@aflac.com
Media contact – Catherine Blades,
706.596.3014; FAX: 706.320.2288, or cblades@aflac.com
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SOURCE Aflac Incorporated