Don't risk a lot for a little, don't risk more than you can afford to lose....
Creating
an altogether new brand identity that almost mocked at one's pedigree
takes an enormous amount of courage, even if the conviction was strong
and, ultimately, one's decision proved to be a master-stroke in making
the company one of the top national brands as well as ensuring effective
brand-connect. Daniel Amos did just that and much more to consolidate a
business that had been built upon strong foundations of public service
and customer confidence.
Early Years
Born
in 1951 at Pensacola, FL, Daniel is the son of Mary Jean Roberts and
AFLAC co-founder Paul Amos, who along with brothers, John and William
started AFLAC (originally called the American Family Life Insurance
Company of Columbus) in 1955 to provide life cover and supplemental
insurance in the United States of America. His father wanted him to be a
leader, and groomed him to assume the responsibility at AFLAC, so it
isn't surprising that he chose to take up risk management as the subject
of his bachelor's degree from University of Georgia Business School.
By the time he completed his education, he was well and truly ready to
dive into the family business. But, unlike many heirs of business
families, he chose to start off like an upstart, and began his career at
AFLAC as a sales representative. He worked in sales for ten years and
became one of the top earners of the company during this period. Along
the way, he also added to his business and man-management skills by
assuming several leadership roles that drove the sales force to give
their best.
Family Spark
Daniel
was inducted into the leadership positions at AFLAC by his charismatic
& dynamic uncle, John Amos, who seemed to have spotted the spark in
the young Daniel. So, it was only logical that when he dies in 1983
leaving the President's (of the company) seat vacant, Daniel was
elevated to that post. While not many would have expected Dan to have an
impact like his uncle did, he did not disappoint. He had truly seized
the situation to make an impact on the company's growth in Japan where
AFLAC had made a definite presence since the time of the senior Amos'.
He is believed to have been the driving force behind some of the
re-investments in Japan that have ensured the company's strong
association with the Japanese people, especially the sales force who now
considered it to be a native Japanese business, and helped consolidate
its position in that country.
The Defining Period
By
the time Amos became CEO in 1990, he knew pretty well the mantra for
successfully taking forward the company. He relied on diversification,
anticipating customer needs, attracting high-quality talent, and
creating a brand differentiation.
He had to chart a defining path also because, during this period, it
appeared that the company's growth had stagnated owing to the general
economic conditions in the world, especially Japan, as well as the
advent of many me-too companies also eating into its revenues. That
besides Amos was well aware of the fact that to be able to register
sustained growth, the company had to have its differentiators. There had
to be new ways of serving customers. Thus, while ensuring that prime
offering of the company since its initial days, cancer insurance,
remains sacrosanct, he set about a path of diversification to the
company's product line.
Taking cognizance of the fact that cancer-deaths and related ailments
were rampant in Japan, he initiated a policy Super cancer that would
provide treatment for senile dementia, which also covered all
shortcomings in government assistance for cancer sufferers. It proved to
be a master strategy as the policy gained widespread acceptance and
purchases. In fact, it was such a hit that by 1996 almost 75% of AFLAC's
revenues came from Japan. More importantly, the policy helped AFLAC to
increase its footprint in Japan to the extent of providing cover to 23%
of the Japanese people. Even corporate Japan (publically held companies)
was influenced by the strength of AFLAC's policies, and they were more
than willing to offer the policies as payroll deductions. Similarly, the
company offered a new policy in the US that covered disability. These
were very good additions to the company's core product, cancer.
He then heralded the creation of an attractive, positive, and friendly
working environment that included child care and flexible work hours,
particularly suitable for working mothers. This attracted top quality
talent to its ranks. In 2001 women held 29 percent of top-management
positions and represented 42 percent of the top earners for AFLAC. All
these have resulted in it being consistently voted as one of the best
places to work.
It is said that even after more than 4 decades of presence (upto the
1990s), the company still remained relatively unknown. Only 10% of
Americans were familiar with the company. A fact that was hard to digest
for Amos, because it was getting all crowded in the insurance space,
and AFLAC did not stand out, despite its specialty. First things he did
was to change the name to something that set it apart while still being
legally known as it was before. This he felt was necessitated because a
lot of other companies had the phrase "American Family" in their names.
Thus, he modified the named to have just the acronym AFLAC. Then, after
having led many path-breaking initiatives, he set about changing the
brand-recall situation in his own country and work on reinforcing the
brand. In 2000, he launched the company's enduring national advertising
campaign that featured the iconic AFLAC Duck, which transformed AFLAC
into a top national brand. It was a courageous decision by Amos to let a
quaking duck be regarded as the identity of this company which had long
been known for traditional values. But, as we have seen, the thought
leaders and visionaries are a different lot. They see beyond the
ordinary and work to achieve those distant goals through their sheer
courage of conviction. The series of commercials featuring the duck have
now become part of successful branding folk-lore. Today, more than 90%
of the people in USA are familiar with AFLAC, largely owing to the
out-of-the-ordinary brand recall that the duck evokes.
He was very clear that insurance, especially supplemental, had
large-scale endorsement only in Japan and the USA. But AFLAC had
operations in many geographies, which were not bringing in much
business. It could not continue like that. So, instead of letting them
operate in a state of near obsolescence, Amos decided to shut them all
and focus on the two countries which were presented opportunity for his
company to grow as well as serve the ones who wanted to be served.
He also made sure that the company invested extensively in cancer
research. Thus, under his leadership, the company developed Georgia's
AFLAC Cancer Center at Atlanta's Egleston Children's Hospital.
All the efforts of Amos in the 23 years that he has been the CEO of
AFLAC have had a tremendous impact on the company's fortunes. Today,
AFLAC serves 50 million people with its insurance products (primarily
operating in the US and, Japan). In fact, it is the leading provider of
individual insurance policies offered at the worksite in the United
States and is the largest life insurer in Japan in terms of individual
policies in force - 25% of families are covered by AFLAC one way or the
other. Its income grew from $2.7 billion in the early 1990s to $22.7
billion (2012) and assets grew to about $140 billion.
His leadership in the last two decades has had great impact on the
company and its work culture. AFLAC was named by FORTUNE magazine as one
of America's Most Admired Companies eleven times, besides the
recognition of being the only insurance company to appear for 14
consecutive years on FORTUNE's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work
For. It has also featured in Ethisphere magazine's annual list of the
World's Most Ethical Companies for six consecutive years.
While he respects the quality of the work-force, like most CEOs, he
does not put up with non-sense which in corporate parlance is akin to
integrity issues. This aspect of his personality was manifest when he
did not bat an eye-lid while firing comedian Gilbert Gottfried -- who
provided the US voice for the AFLAC duck -- threatened the AFLAC brand
by making jokes on Twitter about the devastation wrought upon Japan by a
tsunami. It is said that Amos fired Gottfried within 15 minutes of
making the tasteless joke.
Other Associations
Amos is a member of the board of trustees of the House of Mercy of
Columbus. He previously served as a member of the Consumer Affairs
Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is the
former chairman of the board of The Japan America Society of Georgia and
former chairman of the University of Georgia Foundation. He has been a
Member of the Board of various companies including CIT Group
(1998-2001), Georgia Power Company, Southern Co., and Synovus Financial.
Philanthropy
Amos and his wife, Mary, devoted much of their time to Children's
Healthcare of Atlanta – a hospital Amos helped create out of the merger
of the Egleston Children's hospital and the Scottish Rite Children's
hospital. The center treats cancer-afflicted children. Besides this, the
couple has contributed millions of dollars to cancer research.
Awards & Accolades | |
Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Georgia Business School, 1990. | |
Silver Award, Financial World CEO of the Year competition, 1994. | |
Executive of the Year, Georgia Securities Association, 1995. | |
Listed on Chief Executive Magazine's Wealth Creation Index as one of the top 50 CEOs since the index's inception in 2008. | |
Named as one of America's Best CEOs in the insurance category by Institutional Investor magazine, 2010. | |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Award and the Anti-Defamation League's Torch of Liberty Award. |
Quotes | |
"Give your employees everything they need to succeed and they will give everything they can to help the business succeed." | |
"Everything I do is guided by the three principles of risk management, which I learned in college. They are: Don't risk a lot for a little, don't risk more than you can afford to lose, and consider the odds." | |
"The fact is, people can handle bad news if you give it to them. What they can't handle is uncertainty." | |
"I think the events we face prove to me that when you are decisive, transparent, and ultimately are trying to do the right thing, it will be reflected in your company and your image." |
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