Farmers President to Replace Retiring CEO

Farmers Insurance announced that Leo E. Denlea Jr., its chief executive since 1986, will be replaced Jan. 1 by Martin D. Feinstein, president and chief operating officer. Denlea is to retire in March, when he turns 65. Until then, he will remain chairman of Farmers, the nation’s third-largest auto and home insurer and the sixth-largest property and casualty insurance group. Feinstein, 48, has spent 27 years at Farmers, holding positions in marketing and claims functions in the company’s regional offices. In recent years, he has been vice president of marketing, senior vice president for property and casualty operations and, since January 1995, president. During Denlea’s tenure at Los Angeles-based Farmers, assets grew from $10 billion to $24 billion and net revenue rose from $973 million to $1.9 billion.