Genworth CEO Tom McInerney To Retire December 31; CFO Jerome Upton Set To Take Over
Genworth's board expects to name CFO Jerome Upton chief executive on January 1, 2027, with Closed Block CFO Angela Simmons stepping into his job.
Genworth Financial, which sells private mortgage insurance through its majority-owned subsidiary Enact, said Friday that President and CEO Thomas J. McInerney will retire December 31, 2026, and that CFO Jerome Upton is set to succeed him the next day. McInerney will also leave the board at the close of business that day.
A finance team takes the top jobs
Upton will be appointed president and CEO and elected to the board on January 1, 2027, filling the seat McInerney vacates, according to the company's 8-K. He has been CFO since March 2023 and with the company and its predecessors since 1998, the company said in its press release.
Angela Simmons, 53, becomes executive vice president and CFO on the same date. She joined Genworth in 2002 and has been CFO of its Closed Block businesses since 2020. The Closed Block services long-term care, life insurance and annuity policies that are no longer sold.
Before that, Simmons was controller for the U.S. life insurance business and spent more than a decade leading SEC reporting, the filing says.
Pay terms for Upton and Simmons are expected to be approved later and disclosed in an amendment to the filing, the company said.
Not a dispute, the company says
McInerney's retirement is not the result of any disagreement with the company over operations, policies or practices, the filing states.
Upton served as interim CEO from July 7, 2026 to September 2, 2026, while McInerney was on a medical leave of absence. He will also act as principal accounting officer on an interim basis from early November, following the October 8 announcement that Darren Woodell was resigning.
Melina Higgins, chair of Genworth's board, said the board is confident Upton "will carry this strong progress forward."
Fourteen years, and CareScout
McInerney said it had been a privilege to lead Genworth "over the past 14 years." He pointed to a stronger financial position, capital returned to shareholders, the challenges of the legacy long-term care business and the launch of CareScout.
CareScout is Genworth's start-up aging-care operation, with a fee-based services arm and an individual long-term care insurance product. Upton said he has spent 28 years with the company and plans to build on the foundation laid under McInerney. Genworth's market value was $3.4 billion in Friday pre-market trading.
The amendment spelling out Upton's and Simmons's pay is the next filing to watch, ahead of the January 1, 2027 handoff.
