First American Financial has appointed Mark Seaton as its new CEO.
Seaton had served as the CFO of the company since 2013. He joined First American in 2006 and holds an MBA from Dartmouth.
Alongside his financial duties, he is currently responsible for the company's First American Trust bank and looks after First American’s technology group.
Seaton commented: ‘I’ve been a part of the First American family for nearly 20 years, and it’s an honor to serve the company as its CEO. We have celebrated many proud accomplishments during our 136-year history, but given our extraordinary people and unique competitive advantages, I firmly believe our best days are yet to come.’
The company’s new CFO will be Matt F Wajner, who joined First American in 2009 and in that time has served as chief accounting officer, controller and treasurer.
Chairman of the Board Dennis J Gilmore commented in a press release: ‘We are looking forward to our next chapter under the strong leadership of Mark Seaton. No one is more ready to be our CEO than Mark, who has played a leading role in our most critical strategic initiatives, which are driving the digital transformation of our business. We want to thank Ken DeGiorgio for his many years of service to First American.’
DeGiorgio’s employment with First American was terminated after he allegedly choked a fellow passenger on a Virgin Voyages cruise in Puerto Rico. He was arrested and charged with assault.
First American has since issued a revised shareholder report and proxy statement to reflect his departure, but did not have a further comment on the matter.
Talia Samuelson
Talia Samuelson is a reporter for Governance Intelligence. She previously worked as a journalist in Buenos Aires and has covered compliance in Latin America.
