Eugene Raitt

I am a highly accomplished global executive, board chair, and governance leader with a distinguished track record across direct-to-consumer marketing, digital transformation, insurance distribution, affinity marketing, and international business expansion. My career accomplishments span senior executive leadership, board governance, enterprise transformation, and large-scale commercial growth across North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and global markets.

I've been recognized for leading complex organizations through periods of strategic change, building high-performing teams, expanding distribution capabilities, and delivering measurable shareholder value. My governance philosophy is grounded in integrity, transparency, empowerment, disciplined oversight, and a deep understanding of operational and financial performance.

Chairman, Direct Marketing Association — Led governance for an 18,000-member global association of direct-to-consumer professionals headquartered in New York City.

Chairman, Hong Kong Direct Marketing Association — Chaired a 1,500-member Hong Kong-based association representing direct-to-consumer marketing professionals.

Chairman, USO Japan — Provided board leadership for the United Service Organizations in Japan, supporting more than 200,000 U.S. active-duty military personnel and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

Chairman, [name not recovered from source PDF] — Led governance for a membership marketing and administration company focused on China's 50+ demographic, offering insurance and non-financial member benefits.

Chairman, Affinity Digital Holdings — Chairs a Hong Kong-based company focused on third-party affinity digital marketing of insurance products across Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Chairman, DataTrade Group — Leads the overall strategy and governance for an integrated marketing services group with operations in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Chairman, American Chamber of Commerce Japan — Insurance Committee — Chaired the insurance committee of one of the region's leading international business organizations.

Chairman, American Chamber of Commerce Japan — D2C Committee — Chaired the D2C marketing committee of one of the region's leading international business organizations.

Founding Governor, ECHO Awards — Served as a founding governor and leader for the international awards competition recognizing excellence in direct-to-consumer marketing.

Vice-Chairman, Asia Digital Marketing Association. Executive Committee Member, Direct Marketing Association. Executive Committee Member, Hong Kong Direct Marketing Association. Executive Committee Member, Asia Digital Marketing Association.

Board Member, HOPE International. Board Member, World Cancer Research Foundation. Board Member, Japan Direct Marketing Association. School Board Member, Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programs, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. HKUST, Faculty advisor for international case analysis team competitions. HKUST Admissions committee member.

I have held senior executive roles across major global corporations, agencies, and international direct-to-consumer businesses, including:

Senior Vice President, National Liberty Corporation — Head of direct-to-consumer and retail distribution.

Executive Vice President, The Reich Group — Head of strategy, business development, and direct-to-consumer business.

President, [name not recovered from source PDF] — Led a major direct-to-consumer agency and service provider.

Executive Vice President, Chief Digital & Direct Marketing Officer, AIG Worldwide — Led global digital and direct marketing strategy, distribution transformation, and international expansion.

Junior Partner, Starr International Company.

President, China and Asia Pacific, [name not recovered from source PDF] — Led regional operations for an international direct-to-consumer business.

Psychologist, USA, Pennsylvania. Adjunct Professor, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology — MBA & MSc courses taught include Mastering D2C Marketing, Consumer Psychology, Marketing Strategy.

My governance approach is centered on the creation of sustainable shareholder value while maintaining the highest standards of integrity, honesty, transparency, and accountability.

Integrity-led leadership — establishing trust through consistency, transparency, and ethical decision-making.

Empowerment with disciplined oversight — delegating authority while maintaining appropriate monitoring and governance controls.

Strategic engagement without micromanagement — providing meaningful guidance through deep business understanding rather than excessive operational interference.

Executive coaching and talent development — motivating teams by demonstrating confidence in their abilities and providing practical, continuous leadership development.

Operational fluency — immersing myself in all key business areas to understand P&L ownership, market context, and functional accountability in order to provide the best feedback and directional guidance possible.

Leadership by example — setting expectations only after demonstrating personal commitment, credibility, and willingness to engage directly with challenges.

A defining feature of my executive career has been the ability to lead enterprise-wide transformation across markets, cultures, and operating models. Significant experience includes: strategic distribution transformation from traditional to digital; global digital adoption; direct-to-consumer expansion; cross-border market entry; technology-enabled marketing modernization; organizational change management; multicultural stakeholder alignment; board and executive-level persuasion; and P&L owner engagement and business model transition.

My leadership approach recognizes that change requires careful orchestration, stakeholder education, clear economic rationale, and sustained executive sponsorship. Change initiatives I have used have consistently been structured to align strategic objectives with measurable financial outcomes.

At AIG, the global distribution model was successfully transitioned from a business that relied almost entirely on agent and broker channels to a more diversified structure incorporating direct-to-consumer distribution.

The strategy shifted from 100% agent/broker distribution to 75% agent/broker distribution and 25% direct-to-consumer distribution. In selected markets, the mix reached approximately 60% agent/broker and 40% direct-to-consumer. This transformation was achieved within approximately three years.

The financial rationale was clear and compelling: agent/broker distribution margins approximately 15%; direct-to-consumer margins approximately 40%. The substantially higher margin profile of direct-to-consumer distribution created a powerful economic case for transformation and helped accelerate internal adoption across markets.

The direct-to-consumer strategy was rolled out across 62 of AIG's 130 operating countries, requiring extensive board-level education, senior stakeholder engagement, and local-market persuasion. The transformation succeeded because it combined strong strategic vision, proven D2C expertise, board and executive-level buy-in, market-by-market implementation discipline, demonstrable margin improvement, scalable technology infrastructure, and local cultural and operational adaptation.

In North America, the direct-to-consumer business grew from approximately $20 million to $200 million in two years. This growth was driven primarily through strategic partnerships with leading financial institutions (Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo) and major professional and affinity associations (American Bar Association, American Dental Association, major alumni associations).

In Japan, the direct-to-consumer business grew from approximately $200 million to $4.5 billion in five years. Key growth drivers included the introduction of digital tools, strategic partnerships with major Japanese banks and credit card companies, localization of D2C marketing practices, and integration of technology, marketing, and customer service operations.

The proven Japan model was then expanded across Asia-Pacific, beginning with Korea and China. Within eight years, the direct-to-consumer business grew to approximately $6.5 billion, representing roughly 23% of top-line revenue and 45% of bottom-line contribution.

A major enabler of international expansion was the development of a pioneering digital direct-to-consumer platform known as Quick Start. The platform supported front-end marketing execution, customer acquisition, campaign management, policy issuance, back-end operations, customer service, retention activity, and market launch acceleration.

A recurring strength throughout my executive career has been the ability to negotiate and activate strategic partnerships with high-value institutions and affinity groups worldwide, across many and varied boundaries — nationality, ethnicity, religious, race, and cultures (banks, credit card companies, professional associations, alumni associations).

Capabilities include managing cross-cultural business challenges, adapting strategies to local regulatory environments, building executive credibility across regions, and leading multinational teams. Leadership scope spans direct line management of small senior teams, leadership of more than 20 direct reports, and oversight of organizations with more than 30,000 employees with full P&L responsibility.