American Enterprise Group recently appointed Susan Harnett, James Whisler and Gary Scholten to the American Enterprise Mutual Holding Company Board of Directors, parent company of AEG.
Harnett currently serves as an independent director and member of the Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee and a member of the Business Risk and Compliance of the OFG Holding Company Bank Board. She is also an independent director of Life Storage Inc. and a member of the Audit and Human Capital committees. Previously, Harnett served on the board of directors of First Niagara Financial Group and, most recently, held the role of COO for QBE North America, where she was responsible for oversight of the company’s claims, information technology, corporate legal teams, board support and transformation. Prior to that, she spent most of her career at Citi. Most notably, she ran Europe’s largest bank assurance network, based in Germany.
Harnett holds an MBA from Northwestern University and is a certified director by the National Association of Corporate Directors and a certified risk director from the DCRO Institute.
James Whisler spent more than 30 years of his career (25 years as a principal) with Deloitte, one of the largest consultancies in the world. There, he led complex and impactful projects for many of the most sophisticated players in the healthcare space. He oversaw strategic programs in areas such as M&A, product development and market entry, health information analytics, expert testimony, health reform, value-based care and performance improvement. In addition, he held several leadership positions at Deloitte. Since retiring in 2020, Whisler has remained active as a leader in the industry, bringing significant healthcare, insurance and financial expertise to his roles.
Whisler holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Minnesota. He is also a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the America Academy of Actuaries.
Gary Scholten served as CIO at Principal Financial for 18 years, with a total tenure of 40 years with the company before his retirement in 2020. Scholten stepped into the CIO role in 2002 after the company went public, focusing his responsibilities on IT governance, global sourcing and procurement, and IT strategy processes. As CIO and chief digital officer, Scholten played a key leadership role in navigating Principal through a significant digital transformation effort. Since retiring, he has played an active role nationally in the digital, technology and data business sectors. He was recently named an MIT Research Fellow and is involved in a leadership capacity with several technology start-ups.
Scholten holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Northern Iowa.
The AEG board also released its 2021 Annual Report at its annual meeting, highlighting another year of strong financial performance and accomplishments. americanenterprise.com