MEMIC's first and only CEO to step down next year

Courtesy / The MEMIC Group John Leonard, president and CEO of The MEMIC Group since its founding in 1993, plans to retire in 2017.

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John T. Leonard, who has led Portland-based MEMIC Group since its founding in 1993, will retire in September 2017, the company said Wednesday.

Under his watch, the workers’ comp insurer has grown to assets of more than $1.2 billion with offices from Maine to Florida. It provides service to 21,000 companies and maintains a surplus of more than $400 million.

“The establishment and success of MEMIC has been a labor of love,” Leonard said in a prepared statement. “I am so proud of this company, of its people, and of its mission to reduce injuries.The early days were really difficult but we all believed in the mission. We worked together with policyholders and workers to truly change Maine’s culture of workplace injuries to a culture of workplace safety.”

MEMIC grew out of a 1992 reform of workers’ compensation laws in Maine. It is a private mutual insurance company, with its initial funding entirely through loans and insurance premiums. The company opened its doors in a small office in Westbrook in late 1992 and wrote its first policy on Jan. 1, 1993.

In addition to the Portland headquarters, MEMIC has offices in Manchester, N.H.; Glastonbury, Conn.; Albany, N.Y.; Weehawken, N.J.; West Conshohocken, Pa.; Tysons Corner, Va.; and Tampa, Fla.

The MEMIC board has formed a search committee to find Leonard’s successor.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins issued a statement following the announcement that Leonard, plans to retire.

“John Leonard has had a truly remarkable career, capped by 23 years at the helm of Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company,” she said. “When John came to MEMIC as its first permanent CEO in early 1993, Maine was struggling to implement crucial reforms passed to avert the near-collapse of our workers’ comp insurance market. Employers faced sky-high premiums they could not afford, while workers faced injury rates far above the national average. Right away, John and his team at MEMIC set out to improve workplace safety and reduce premiums.

Collins said that under Leonard’s leadership “MEMIC has far exceeded its goals, helping to make a safer, fairer, and more affordable workplace a reality for employers and employees across Maine.”