David O'Malley Set to Become Penn Mutual CEO

What You Need to Know

Eileen McDonnell, the current Penn Mutual CEO, has been in that post since 2011.
The company joined the Fortune 1000 top company list while she was CEO and now ranks 649th.
Her successor David O'Malley has been the chief operating officer since 2013.

The board of The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company has named a longtime company veteran to succeed Eileen McDonnell as the company’s CEO.

Chief Operating Officer David O’Malley will succeed McDonnell as CEO Jan. 1, 2022, Penn Mutual says. McDonnnell, who has been the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company’s chairman as well as its CEO, will continue to be the chairman.

The moves mean there will be a change in the face of Penn Mutual for financial professionals who do business with the company, but McDonnell said in a comment that the succession process was planned and should maximize stability.

“Dave and I have worked side by side for more than a decade, and he is the natural successor to provide continuity and steady leadership,” McDonnell said.

O’Malley has a deep knowledge of the insurance industry, and an unwavering commitment to Penn Mutual’s policyholders and people, McDonnell said.

McDonnell’s Tenure

McDonnell joined Penn Mutual in 2008, as the chief marketing officer. She became the company’s CEO in 2011 and its chairman in 2011.

Since McDonnell became CEO, assets have increased to $35 billion, from $14 billion.

O’Malley’s Background

O’Malley started out at Penn Mutual in 1994 as an intern in the company’s investment department, then worked for the company for seven years.

He left to become a vice president at Morgan Stanley.

He returned to Penn Mutual in 2002, to serve as the company’s head of fixed income. He later was the chief risk officer, the senior vice president for product management and the chief financial officer before taking the chief operating officer title.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Drexel University.