James J. Schiro, the former CEO of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd., has died at the age of 68.
Mr. Schiro, an American citizen who became the first non-Swiss to head Zurich, was CEO of the insurer between 2002 and 2009 and was widely credited with returning the company to profitability.
Mr. Schiro most recently was a lead director at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
He left the board of the investment banking group in July to undergo treatment for multiple myeloma and died last Wednesday.
“We are greatly saddened by the passing on Aug. 13 of our former lead director, James Schiro. Our thoughts are with his wife and children,” the bank said in a statement.
Mr. Schiro in 1998 led the merger of Pricewaterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P., the world's largest professional services firm.
In 2007, Mr. Schiro was named insurance leader of the year by the School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science at St. John's University in New York.
ZURICH, Switzerland--James Schiro has been named chief executive officer of Zurich Financial Services Group, replacing Rolf Hueppi, who is stepping down.