XL Renames Bermuda Office After O’Hara
XL has renamed its Bermuda office building in honor of its first employee and former Chairman and CEO Brian M. O’Hara.
The unveiling of the new name took place at the main entrance of the building during an internal celebration on November 3rd recognizing Mr. O’Hara’s career contributions.
Clearly surprised and practically speechless, Mr. O’Hara asked current CEO Mike McGavick: “Are you sure you want to do this; shouldn’t we keep it branded XL House?”
However, Mr. McGavick and other XL colleagues assured him that then name change was definite and that he was well deserving of such a decision.
This sentiment was echoed throughout the afternoon celebration which was attended by several industry veterans who are former XL employees including Henry Keeling, Fiona Luck and Bob Cooney.
Mr. Keeling, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer until his retirement from XL in August 2008, XL’s Chief Executive of Reinsurance Operations Jamie Veghte and Mr. McGavick all paid tribute to Mr. O’Hara’s exemplary leadership and loyalty to XL and the Bermuda market.
This message was reiterated later that evening at a private celebration at Harry’s restaurant attended by industry leaders, brokers, current and former XL colleagues and other friends of Mr. O’Hara. There speakers, including Mike O’Halleran, Executive Chairman of Aon Benfield, and Brian Duperreault, President and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., spoke of their career and personal relationships with Mr. O’Hara, praising his leadership skills and integrity.
During both events, an approximately two-minute trailer video of an XL 25th anniversary film, “XL@25, Making the World Go”, was shown. The full video, approximately 25 minutes, tells the story of XL’s formation and development from 1986 to 2011. It includes interviews with XL co-founder Bob Newhouse, original Board members and past and present executives.
The Bermuda celebrations were part of several events and activities that XL has planned throughout the year to mark its silver anniversary.
For example, last month XL launched a new global brand and marketing campaign which included a new logo and “Make Your World Go” tagline. The new brand captures the powerful combination of talent, innovation and drive at XL and its commitment to advancing progress in an ever changing and increasingly complex global business environment.
XL is also sponsoring the Financial Times’ new ‘The Future of the Company’ series, a six-month digital initiative focused on the changing trends in global business and how those trends impact companies’ operations. The online coverage includes news, analysis and commentary by XL and the Financial Times as well as panel interviews with renown authors, educators and business leaders.
