COLUMBUS, Ga., Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated announced today that it has hired Catherine H. Blades to the newly created position of senior vice president, Corporate Communications, Aflac Incorporated, reporting to Audrey Boone Tillman, executive vice president, Corporate Services, Aflac Incorporated. In her new position, Blades will define, lead and integrate the implementation of Aflac's communications strategy to proactively and effectively promote internal and external communications.
Blades brings more than two decades of leadership experience in the field of communications to Aflac. Most recently, she served as chief communications and marketing officer at Flextronics where she was responsible for several areas, including corporate communications and public affairs. In addition to serving as Flextronics' international spokesperson interacting with a variety of constituents, Blades supervised cross-functional teams in Asia, Europe and the Americas with an emphasis on global brand and reputation management. Previously, Blades also served as vice president of Communications and Public Affairs at Raytheon Company's Space and Airborne Systems business. Additionally, she was responsible for international and marketing communications at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and held various other communications-related leadership positions. Blades earned a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and is a Loyola University Environmental Communications Fellow.
Aflac Incorporated Executive Vice President of Corporate Services Audrey Boone Tillman commented, "Over the last several decades, Aflac has established a strong reputation for transparency in our communications, and we view this as a critical element of our success. As we continually strive to strengthen every aspect of our business, we are thrilled that Catherine has joined the Aflac team. I believe her wide-ranging communication experience, combined with her strong leadership skills, will strengthen our many facets of communication. I look forward to her contributions and have no doubt that she will be instrumental to the future success of Aflac."
ABOUT AFLAC
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For nearly six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance. In Japan, Aflac is the number one life insurance company in terms of individual policies in force. Aflac individual and group insurance products provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For seven consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2013, FORTUNE magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the 16th consecutive year. Also, in 2013, FORTUNE magazine included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 12th time, ranking the company number one in the life and health insurance category. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. We desire to take advantage of these provisions. This document contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other statements made by company officials in communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may," "should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes," "potential," "target" or similar words as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. We caution readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements: difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy; governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets; defaults and credit downgrades of securities in our investment portfolio; impairment of financial institutions; credit and other risks associated with Aflac's investment in perpetual securities; differing judgments applied to investment valuations; significant valuation judgments in determination of amount of impairments taken on our investments; limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments; concentration of our investments in any particular single-issuer or sector; concentration of business in Japan; increased derivative activities; ongoing changes in our industry; exposure to significant financial and capital markets risk; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; significant changes in investment yield rates; deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions; subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to Aflac Incorporated; changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities; ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates and employees; decreases in our financial strength or debt ratings; ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems; interruption in telecommunications, information technology, and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese accounting standards; failure to comply with restrictions on patient privacy and information security; level and outcome of litigation; ability to effectively manage key executive succession; catastrophic events including, but not necessarily limited to, epidemics, pandemics, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism and damage incidental to such events; and failure of internal controls or corporate governance policies and procedures.
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Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y. Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667; FAX: 706.324.6330, or rwilkey@aflac.com
Media contact – Laura Kane, 706.593.0786; FAX: 706.320.2288, or lkane@aflac.com
SOURCE Aflac Incorporated