John F. Barrett
Encyclopedia
John F. Barrett is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western & Southern Financial Group
. Barrett has served as CEO since 1994 and as president since 1989. Under Barrett's leadership, Western & Southern has grown from a small Midwestern life insurance company founded in 1888 into a national financial services enterprise and has doubled in size every five years for the past 15 years. Western & Southern has assets owned, managed and under care in excess of $48 billion as of October 2010 and is one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups in the world, based on its Standard & Poor's
rating.
During the Great Recession, Western & Southern maintained strong economic health with Barrett at the helm. The company was able to develop, through its subsidiary Eagle Realty Group the largest office building in southern Ohio, the Great American Tower at Queen City Square. Barrett's leadership in securing a tenant for the Tower helped to ensure its success. The Great American Tower, opened in January 2011, is part of the Queen City Square complex that totals more than one million square feet.
in 1971. He was a member of the Ohio Epsilon Chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at UC. He was president and CEO of the Bank of New York
(Delaware) before joining Western & Southern in 1987.
.
He received the 2008 Volunteer Leadership Award from the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati for leading a joint task force created in 2001 to address the low number of physicians in Greater Cincinnati. Under his leadership, Cincinnati MD Resource Center was established, and in 2004, Cincinnati MDJobs.com was launched.
He gave the commencement address to the University of Cincinnati's Class of 2011 at its June ceremonies.
Barrett is president of the Association of Ohio Life Insurance Companies and serves as a member of Washington, D.C.'s Business Roundtable
and the Financial Services Roundtable. In 2006, he led statewide tax reform in Ohio as part of his involvement as chairman of the Ohio Business Roundtable.
He previously served on the boards of many Cincinnati arts organizations, including the Cincinnati Arts Association, the Cincinnati Art Museum
and the Taft Museum of Art
.
Barrett has served on the board of directors of Convergys Corporation
since 1998 and formerly served on several other boards, including Fifth Third Bancorp
, The Andersons, Inc. and Touchstone Investment Trusts.
Western & Southern Financial Group
Western & Southern Financial Group, also commonly referred to as Western & Southern, is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned, managed and under care in excess of $52 billion as of March, 2011...
. Barrett has served as CEO since 1994 and as president since 1989. Under Barrett's leadership, Western & Southern has grown from a small Midwestern life insurance company founded in 1888 into a national financial services enterprise and has doubled in size every five years for the past 15 years. Western & Southern has assets owned, managed and under care in excess of $48 billion as of October 2010 and is one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups in the world, based on its Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's is a United States-based financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. It is well known for its stock-market indices, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian...
rating.
During the Great Recession, Western & Southern maintained strong economic health with Barrett at the helm. The company was able to develop, through its subsidiary Eagle Realty Group the largest office building in southern Ohio, the Great American Tower at Queen City Square. Barrett's leadership in securing a tenant for the Tower helped to ensure its success. The Great American Tower, opened in January 2011, is part of the Queen City Square complex that totals more than one million square feet.
Early life
Barrett graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. He obtained a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of CincinnatiUniversity of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
in 1971. He was a member of the Ohio Epsilon Chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at UC. He was president and CEO of the Bank of New York
Bank of New York
The Bank of New York was a global financial services company established in 1784 by the American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. It existed until its merger with the Mellon Financial Corporation on July 2, 2007...
(Delaware) before joining Western & Southern in 1987.
Business and community involvement
A business leader and supporter of the Cincinnati community, Barrett is the recipient of the following awards and distinctions: the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Cincinnati (June 2011); the "Connecting Cultures and Communities Award" presented by the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (May 2010); the most influential person in the Greater Cincinnati area by Cincy magazine in its annual Power 100 list (February 2009); and the 2007 Outstanding Community Service Award from Volunteers of AmericaVolunteers of America
Volunteers of America, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a national, nonprofit, faith-based human services organization providing support programs to more than two million people throughout the United States each year...
.
He received the 2008 Volunteer Leadership Award from the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati for leading a joint task force created in 2001 to address the low number of physicians in Greater Cincinnati. Under his leadership, Cincinnati MD Resource Center was established, and in 2004, Cincinnati MDJobs.com was launched.
He gave the commencement address to the University of Cincinnati's Class of 2011 at its June ceremonies.
Barrett is president of the Association of Ohio Life Insurance Companies and serves as a member of Washington, D.C.'s Business Roundtable
Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable is a politically conservative group of chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations formed to promote pro-business public policy.-History:...
and the Financial Services Roundtable. In 2006, he led statewide tax reform in Ohio as part of his involvement as chairman of the Ohio Business Roundtable.
He previously served on the boards of many Cincinnati arts organizations, including the Cincinnati Arts Association, the Cincinnati Art Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is one of the oldest art museums in the United States. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies. Its collection of over 60,000 works make it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Midwest.Museum founders debated locating...
and the Taft Museum of Art
Taft Museum of Art
The Taft Museum of Art is a house museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The building which houses the museum was built as a villa on the edge of Cincinnati about 1820 for Martin Baum and then was the residence of Nicholas Longworth. David Sinton lived in the house with his daughter Anna, who...
.
Barrett has served on the board of directors of Convergys Corporation
Convergys
Convergys Corporation is a corporation based in Cincinnati, Ohio that provides solutions in customer management and information management. Customer management solutions include agent assisted, self-service and proactive care solutions tailored to the communications, financial services,...
since 1998 and formerly served on several other boards, including Fifth Third Bancorp
Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bank is a U.S. regional banking corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and is the principal subsidiary of holding company Fifth Third Bancorp ....
, The Andersons, Inc. and Touchstone Investment Trusts.