‘Absolute right person’: Wawanesa CEO succession plan in place

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This article was published 18/09/2024 (377 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thirty-five years later, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co.’s summer student-turned-CEO is ready for retirement.

Jeff Goy will step aside as leader of Wawanesa Insurance at the end of this year. Evan Johnston, the company’s executive vice-president of strategy and related business, will take the reins starting Jan. 1.

“He’s the absolute right person. I’m thrilled,” Goy said Wednesday.

The pair have worked together closely over the past eight years. Goy hired Johnston as the Winnipeg-based firm’s chief legal officer.

A majority of Wawanesa Insurance employees began under Goy’s leadership. He took the role of president and CEO on May 23, 2014 — exactly 25 years after he walked through the doors as an actuarial summer student.

He quickly moved into underwriting and climbed the ladder, reaching various vice-president positions before accepting the top job.

Since Goy became president, Wawanesa Insurance has ballooned from 2,121 employees to 5,866, including subsidiaries. The company’s annual revenue from its Canadian operations has nearly doubled — to a projected $3.9 billion by 2024’s end, according to Jackie De Pape Hornick, Wawanesa communications director.

Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. touted $4.7 billion in equity at the end of 2024’s second quarter. In 2013, the company’s equity was $2.8 billion.

“The company is the same but different,” Goy said of his tenure.

Much bigger — that’s different. New headquarters spanning 20 floors in True North Square — also different.

But the main value of community and solving problems for members remains at the company’s core, just as it did when 20 farmers started the business in the community of Wawanesa, Goy said.

“Our vision at Wawanesa has effectively remained the same for the last 128 years. I’m not going to be the CEO to change that,” said Johnston.

He was part of the executive team to create the firm’s downtown Winnipeg tower. He oversaw Wawanesa Insurance’s sale last year of its United States division to the Automobile Club of Southern California. Johnston has played a critical role in the company’s recent strategy.

Over the next three months, he and Goy will work together on the leadership transition. Johnston said he plans to do “a lot of listening” — from employees, members, brokers and other stakeholders — before stepping into the role.

He’ll be Wawanesa Insurance’s 10th president and CEO. Prior to working at Wawanesa, he was a corporate lawyer practising throughout Canada and overseas. He’s from Gimli.

Wawanesa Insurance will have to adapt to societal and environmental changes in the coming years, he noted, while reiterating it will remain the same “in many ways.”

The company touts $10 billion in assets and more than 1.7 million Canadian members.

Once the three-month transition period ends, Goy will retire.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com