Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> December 3, 2002
WALTER R. BATEMAN is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive
Officer of Harleysville Group Inc., a $1.1 billion network of 12
property/casualty insurance companies operating in 32 states. Mr.
Bateman joined Harleysville in 1988 as Senior Vice President of
Field Operations. He continued in that position until 1991, when
he was named Executive Vice President of the Harleysville
organization. In 1992, he was named President and Chief Operating
Officer. Then in 1994, he was named President and Chief Executive
Officer for the Harleysville companies. He was elected Chairman
of the Board in 1998. Before joining Harleysville he was one of
three regional Vice Presidents at General Accident Insurance
Company in Philadelphia. He began his insurance career with Utica
National Insurance Company in 1974 as an underwriting trainee. He
earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School and a Master's degree in Business
Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is also a
graduate of the College of Insurance Executive Program and
Wharton-IIA Advanced Education Program for insurance executives.
He holds the professional designations Chartered Property
Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Risk Management
(ARM). He served as an officer in the United States Navy and is a
Vietnam veteran. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees
of the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty
Underwriters and Insurance Institute of America, as well as a
current Board member. He also serves on the Boards of the
National Association of Independent Insurers and the Insurance
Services Office. He is very active in the local community,
currently serving as President of the North Penn United Way and
as a member of the Board of Harleysville National Corporation. He
was the recipient of the 2002 'Franklin Award,' given annually by
the CPCU Society's Philadelphia Chapter in recognition of his
outstanding achievements and contributions to the insurance
industry in the Delaware Valley. Profile
Harleysville Group followed by a picture of things as they are
today?
Mr. Bateman: We started as a mutual company back in 1917, but
let's
