Lincoln's CEO is stepping down

Lincoln National Corp., the financial services firm whose name is branded on the Philadelphia Eagles' stadium, yesterday announced the retirement of its chairman and chief executive, Jon Boscia.

The board immediately named longtime director J. Patrick Barrett chairman and Dennis Glass chief executive officer.

During his 10 years as chief executive officer, Boscia oversaw the $7.5 billion acquisition of then-rival Jefferson-Pilot Corp. of Greensboro, N.C. The acquisition, announced in 2005, made Lincoln National one of the largest U.S. life insurers.

Glass, 57, was the CEO of Jefferson-Pilot, and had been the number-two executive at Lincoln.

Boscia said he had been discussing his retirement with the board for the last year, and the Center City company thought that the internal candidates provided an opportunity for a smooth succession, Boscia said.

Although he hadn't viewed the April 2006 completion of the Jefferson-Pilot merger as a specific departure date, the timing seemed right, said Boscia, who has worked for Lincoln for 24 years.

"The company's performance is outstanding," Boscia said in an interview yesterday afternoon. "I believe the best time to have a leadership succession and shift is when everything is going well."

Boscia's retirement was announced after the U.S. stock markets had closed. Lincoln shares closed up 61 cents, to $71.04, on the New York Stock Exchange.

Glass and Barrett will assume their posts immediately, and Boscia will stay on through August to assist them.

Boscia, 55, became Lincoln's CEO in 1998 and helped it diversify from an insurance company with $6.1 billion in revenue to a provider of insurance, annuities and retirement plans with $9.1 billion in revenue. It had $237 billion in assets under management as of March 31.

He also spearheaded the move of the company's headquarters from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Philadelphia in 1999. Lincoln, which bought Center City's Delaware Investments in 1995, made an even bigger move in 2002, when it agreed to pay $139.6 million over 20 years to have the Eagles' new football stadium named after the company's trade name, Lincoln Financial.

Boscia, who will continue to serve on the board of Hershey Foods Corp., said he plans to join two other boards in the future.

In addition to serving as chairman of Lincoln, Barrett sits on the boards of six other companies, including Carpat Investments, Syracuse Executive Air Service Inc., Bennington Ironworks and Whiteface Club Cos.

Barrett is also director of Lincoln National's subsidiary, Lincoln Life & Annuity Co. of New York.

As president and chief operating officer of Lincoln, Glass oversaw six businesses. He also chairs the investment committee for the company's insurance account portfolio.