HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 9, 2025--
The Hartford appointed Tooker as the company’s president. In this new role, he will add Personal Lines to his current position overseeing Small Commercial, Middle & Large Commercial and Global Specialty, as well as Enterprise Sales & Distribution and Risk Services. This will align all of the company’s property-and-casualty businesses under his leadership. In addition, Tooker will also be responsible for stewarding a number of enterprise-wide initiatives. The change is effective Feb. 1, 2025, and Tooker will continue to report to The Hartford’s Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift.
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“Mo is an exceptional leader, highly regarded in the insurance industry, with a strong reputation for strategic growth, customer-focused solutions, underwriting discipline, and building a cohesive team culture,” Swift said. “He is ideally suited to step into the crucial role of president as we advance our ambitious growth-and-innovation strategy aimed at addressing our customers’ changing needs.”
Tooker joined The Hartford in 2015 as chief underwriting officer and has served in a number of critical leadership roles during the last nine years, most recently as head of Commercial Lines. He has significantly advanced the company’s underwriting capabilities while creating meaningful growth and fostering a culture of innovation and collaborative solutions. Prior to joining The Hartford, Tooker served as president of General Reinsurance Corporation and was responsible for the company’s global property and casualty reinsurance business.
“I am honored and excited to become president of The Hartford at such a significant time in our company’s history,” Tooker said. “With significant investments in technology to streamline processes and mitigate risk, we are deepening connections with our customers, brokers and agents. Our competitive advantages are clear, and we start 2025 from a position of strength. I am energized by the tremendous opportunities ahead and confident in our sustained future success.”
About The Hartford
The Hartford is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. With more than 200 years of expertise, The Hartford is widely recognized for its service excellence, sustainability practices, trust and integrity. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at https://www.thehartford.com.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. For additional details, please read The Hartford’s legal notice.
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Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.
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A. Morris ‘Mo’ Tooker (Photo: Business Wire)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Some 1.8 million mostly barefoot Catholic worshippers marched Thursday in an annual procession in the Philippines that venerates a centuries-old black statue of Jesus. Some said they prayed for good health for their families, an end to tensions in the South China Sea, and for incoming U.S. President Donald Trump to be kinder to Filipino immigrants.
The procession marks the feast of Jesus Nazareno and is a major annual Catholic event in Asia. The image was previously called the Black Nazarene, but church officials appealed for a change, saying the former name was not founded in history and evoked a racial slur.
The procession in Manila began before dawn, with organizers estimating the early crowd at around 250,000. Their number swelled later in the day as devotees made their way to the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno, also known as Quiapo Church.
Police said the crowd reached 1.8 million in the afternoon and the number was still expected to increase. Last year, at least 2 million devotees joined the 15-hour procession, with some estimates of the crowd as high as over 6 million.
Reverend Father Robert Arellano, a spokesperson of Quiapo Church, said this year’s procession is slower compared to last year because of an increase in the number of participants and some jostling devotees climbing the glass-covered carriage housing the image.
Shouts of “Viva, viva,” rang out as the image passes by, with devotees clutching at ropes pulling the carriage and raising white towels in jubilation. The procession typically draws massive numbers of largely poor Catholics who pray for the sick and a better life.
Gaspar Espinocilla, a 56-year-old Manila city employee and a devotee of Jesus Nazareno for the last 20 years, said he is praying for his family, including his sister who has ovarian cancer. He is also praying for an end to tensions in the West Philippines Sea, a part of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines, where China has been harassing Filipino fishermen and coast guard vessels.
“I hope China will ease up on us, they cannot seize everything as theirs,” said Gaspar, who was wearing a maroon T-shirt printed with face of Jesus Nazareno. “It is ours, not theirs.”
Renato Reyes, a garbage scavenger who has been a Jesus Nazareno devotee for more than three decades, said he prays for a better life for his family, for the Philippines to be free from calamities, as well as for wars overseas to end. He also said he will include in his prayers Filipinos who may be affected by Trump’s planned mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
“I hope they will not implement that because our countrymen are there just to earn a living for their families,” he added.
Officials said some 14,000 police and plainclothes officers were deployed, along with soldiers, fire fighters, prison staff and volunteers. Many nearby roads were closed and cell phone signals were blocked.
More than a dozen devotees were seen being carried away on stretchers. The Philippine Red Cross said that 467 people were given first aid or other medical assistance for mostly minor complaints like dizziness, difficulty breathing and nausea. At least 15 patients had to be brought to hospital.
The statue of Jesus carrying the cross was brought to the Philippines from Mexico on a galleon in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived, according to some accounts. Church historians, however, said the statue’s color owes to the fact that it was carved out of mesquite wood, which darkens as it ages.
Many devotees believe the statue’s endurance, from fires and earthquakes through the centuries and intense bombings during World War II, is a testament to its miraculous power
Devotees try to climb on a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees try to climb on a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees try to touch the image of Jesus Nazareno inside a glass-covered carriage during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees grab the rope as they pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees grab the rope as they pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees grab the rope as they pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees climb on a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees raise their hands as they join the annual procession of Jesus Nazareno in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees raise their hands as they join the annual procession of Jesus Nazareno in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
