DENVER, July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CoBiz Insurance announced today that Paul Boehm has been named president of the property and casualty insurance brokerage. John Milek, who has served as president of the firm since 1990, will remain with CoBiz Insurance in a key business development role, serving as chairman of the firm that his father founded more than 25 years ago.
"I join with my entire staff in congratulating Paul," said Milek. "Since he joined us in November of 2005, he has brought a great deal of energy and focus to our company. His outstanding organizational management experience combined with his industry knowledge will make him a great leader for CoBiz Insurance. It will be a pleasure to continue working with him in his new role to grow CoBiz Insurance."
Boehm will guide the daily activities of the firm, which provides insurance brokerage and consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses as well as affluent individuals in Colorado and Arizona. Milek will continue in an active role, focusing on business development and serving the needs of the firm's more than 1,700 customers. Kathleen Finley, Sr. Vice President, will continue as an integral part of the management team. The firm also recently hired Victoria Richardson, an industry expert with more than 20 years of experience, to serve as director of operations. According to Milek there are no foreseeable changes to the firm's management structure or staffing.
"We're very fortunate to have such a high level of talent at CoBiz Insurance, allowing us to make a seamless leadership transition," said Steven Bangert, chairman and CEO, CoBiz Inc., the parent company of CoBiz Insurance. "The legacy of John's leadership was evident when we purchased the firm in 2001. Paul represents an incredible opportunity to build on the company's record of client satisfaction while taking the team to its next level."
Boehm joined CoBiz Insurance with more than 20 years of insurance expertise with experience in both insurance carrier and agency environments. Most recently, he served as vice president and branch manager for Milne & BNC Insurance where he established a new branch office for a national bank-owned insurance agency. He received his bachelor's degree from Central College in Pella, IA, and currently serves on the board of directors for the Adoption Alliance.
"I am honored and excited to take on the role of CoBiz Insurance president," said Boehm. "The firm has an outstanding track record of success and a strong reputation in our industry. I look forward to working with our employees to continue growing and surpassing our customers' expectations."
CoBiz Insurance offers property and casualty insurance brokerage and risk management consulting services to businesses and business owners. Our parent company, CoBiz Inc. is a $2.02 billion financial holding company headquartered in Denver. In addition to CoBiz Insurance, CoBiz also offers full-service commercial banking through Arizona Business Bank and Colorado Business Bank; trust and fiduciary services through CoBiz Private Asset Management; investment banking services through Green Manning & Bunch; the management of stock and bond portfolios for individuals and institutions through Alexander Capital Management Group; and employee and executive benefits consulting and wealth transfer services through Financial Designs Ltd.
This release contains forward-looking statements that describe CoBiz's future plans, strategies and expectations. All forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, performance or achievements contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could" or "may." Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things:
* Risks and uncertainties described in our reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent 10-K.
* Competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions
nationally and in our market areas may increase significantly.
* Adverse changes in the economy or business conditions, either nationally
or in our market areas, could increase credit-related losses and
expenses and/or limit growth.
* Increases in defaults by borrowers and other delinquencies could result
in increases in our provision for losses on loans and leases and related
expenses.
* Our inability to manage growth effectively, including the successful
expansion of our customer support, administrative infrastructure and
internal management systems, could adversely affect our results of
operations and prospects.
* Fluctuations in interest rates and market prices could reduce our net
interest margin and asset valuations and increase our expenses.
* The consequences of continued bank acquisitions and mergers in our
market areas, resulting in fewer but much larger and financially
stronger competitors, could increase competition for financial services
to our detriment.
* Our continued growth will depend in part on our ability to enter new
markets successfully and capitalize on other growth opportunities.
* Changes in legislative or regulatory requirements applicable to us and
our subsidiaries could increase costs, limit certain operations and
adversely affect results of operations.
* Changes in tax requirements, including tax rate changes, new tax laws
and revised tax law interpretations may increase our tax expense or
adversely affect our customers' businesses.
In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements in this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
