BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Michael Browne, president and chief operating officer of Harleysville Insurance, a Nationwide Insurance Company, to its Board of Directors.
Browne is an attorney and has 20 years of financial and risk management and insurance experience including serving as insurance commissioner for Pennsylvania and chairing the insurance practice group at Reed Smith LLP. Prior to his current position, to which he was appointed in 2012, he was president and CEO of Harleysville Insurance Companies. Previously he spent 20 years at the law firm of Reed Smith LLP where he was most recently a partner.
Aqua America Chairman Nicholas DeBenedictis said, “Michael’s expertise in financial insurance and risk management will be beneficial to our company as we continue to grow while striving to maintain our record as the most efficient water utility.” DeBenedictis said, “Areas such as health insurance, liability insurance, workers compensation insurance and pension plans are each given great consideration. Michael’s experience in the industry as a CEO and in the cabinet level of government will also prove to be very valuable.”
Browne’s federal service in the late 1970s included serving as Special Assistant and Deputy Under Secretary of Transportation under U.S. Secretary of Transportation William T. Coleman. He played a key role in the development of major policy initiatives such as reorganization of U.S. railroad industry, approval of landing rights for the Concorde, and implementation of passive restraint requirement (airbags) for automobiles. Browne also clerked for Eastern District U.S. Justice Raymond J. Broderick.
Browne earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar. Browne is a member of the board of governors of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, the board of trustees of The Institutes, and the boards of directors of the Insurance Information Institute, the Property Loss Research Bureau, the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania and the North Penn United Way.
A Vietnam veteran, Browne was decorated with the Bronze Star Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the National Defense Medal. He attained the rank of Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based, publicly-traded water utilities and serves almost 3 million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Florida and Georgia. Aqua America is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR. Visit www.aquaamerica.com for more information.
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