CNO Financial CEO To Resign; Succeeded By CFO Bonach

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO) said Chief Executive C. James Prieur has decided to resign from that position at the end of September and will be succeeded by Chief Financial Officer Ed Bonach.

Prieur, 60 years old, joined the provider of supplemental health and life insurance in 2006 from Canadian-based Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF, SLF.T), where he served as president and chief operating officer after serving in a number of managerial positions since joining that firm in 1979.

CNO Financial said its board elected 57-year-old Bonach to succeed Prieur, saying Bonach would continue his responsibilities as chief financial officer until a successor is named.

CNO said it also appointed Scott Perry, president of the company's Bankers Life and Casualty subsidiary, to the newly created position of chief operating officer.

The changes come as CNO, formerly known as Conseco, has fared better in recent quarters as it recovers from large losses in the financial crisis. The company sells health, life and other insurance products primarily to lower- and middle-income clients.

Shares fell 1.1% to $7.93 after hours.

-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480; [e-mail]