NEWS: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kevin Barber, VP and Dir. of Communications
(813) 675-1043, kbarber@ibhs.org
Julie A. Rochman to Succeed Harvey G. Ryland
as IBHS President & CEO
October 8, 2007/Tampa - Julie A. Rochman has been named to succeed Harvey G.
Ryland as president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Business & Home
Safety (IBHS).
Ms. Rochman, currently senior vice president of public affairs at The Glover Park Group
(GPG), a leading Washington-based strategic communication consulting firm, will
assume her new duties in mid-November. Mr. Ryland, who joined IBHS in 1996, will
work with her during the leadership transition through year end, when he will retire from
the organization.
Based in Tampa, Fla., IBHS is a national nonprofit association funded by the insurance
industry. It works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other
property loss events by conducting research and advocating improved construction,
maintenance and preparation practices.
Ms. Rochman has more than 20 years of public affairs and advocacy experience
representing major corporations, research and safety organizations, and issue-based
coalitions. She has been both an organization and industry spokesperson – and is
frequently consulted and quoted by national print, broadcast and electronic media on a
wide variety of topics.
At GPG, Ms. Rochman manages a portfolio primarily comprising financial services
sector clients. She joined the firm from the American Insurance Association (AIA), a
national public policy advocacy organization for property-casualty insurance companies.
As senior vice president of public affairs and member of AIA’s management team for six
years, Ms. Rochman and her staff were responsible for developing and executing
integrated communication campaigns to achieve AIA’s public policy goals at both the
state and federal levels.
From November 1996 until late 2000, Ms. Rochman was vice president of
communications for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), where she
successfully managed media relations for the IIHS and the Highway Loss Data Institute
(HLDI). Upon leaving the IIHS, Ms. Rochman served on the IIHS and HLDI boards of
directors for several years. Prior to joining IIHS, Ms. Rochman managed federal
communications for the Alliance of American Insurers, worked for the Insurance
Information Institute, for a public health organization dedicated to preventing drunk
driving, at an advertising agency as well as for a global insurance brokerage.
-more-
Rochman to Succeed Ryland
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A native of Omaha, Neb., Ms. Rochman earned a B.A. in international relations from
Tulane University and a master’s degree in American government from the University of
Virginia. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.
“Julie has a remarkable passion for the mission of IBHS, “said Phillip E. Love, IBHS
board chairman and chief executive officer of the South Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual
Insurance Company. “She has had an exemplary career in the insurance and safety
communities, where she is highly regarded as a thought leader and communicator,
qualities that will allow her to take the IBHS message to new levels.”
“IBHS is a terrific organization, with a great track record of identifying effective,
valuable loss prevention programs,” Rochman added. “I look forward to working with
IBHS staff, members and organizational partners to build on those achievements, add
new capabilities, and conduct cutting-edge research. It is critical that we amplify IBHS’
voice in the ongoing public dialogue about how best to protect and preserve American
homes and businesses against a variety of risks – and I am really anxious to get started.”
Mr. Ryland has been in the field of emergency management for more than 30 years.
Before joining IBHS, he served as deputy director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA). While there, he worked closely with James Lee Witt, who
was then the director of FEMA, to develop a new strategy for emergency management in
the United States that emphasized loss reduction through mitigation.
“Harvey has done an outstanding job over the last 11 years in establishing IBHS as the
leading authority on property loss mitigation,” said Mr. Love. “I know he will continue to
be quite an ambassador for the organization.”
IBHS offers a variety of programs for protecting homes and businesses. The
Fortified…for safer living® program provides code-plus solutions for building stronger
new homes. IBHS engineers have also developed practical and affordable options for
retrofitting existing structures. By using the Open for Business® continuity planning
tool, small and mid-sized businesses can better prepare for disasters. Visit www.ibhs.org
to learn more.
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4775 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33617 Tel: (813) 286-3400 Fax: (813) 286-9960 www.ibhs.org