Rodney A. Hawes Jr. (born 1939) is an American business executive, investor, and philanthropist. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Life Re Corporation, a

reinsurance Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to insulate itself (at least in part) from the risk of a major claims event. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insu ...

corporation traded on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

, from 1992 until its 1998 merger with

Swiss Re Swiss Re Ltd is a Swiss reinsurance company founded in 1863 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the world's largest reinsurers, as measured by gross premiums written. Swiss Re operates through around 80 offices in 29 countri ...

. He has made large charitable contributions to the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, where Hawes Hall was named in his honor.

Early life

Rodney A. Hawes Jr. was born in 1939 and grew up in

Marsing, Idaho Marsing is a city in Owyhee County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,031 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the Boise metropolitan area. Geography Marsing is on the Snake River, which forms the border with Canyon County ...

, near

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

. His father was a newspaper editor. His mother was a schoolteacher. Hawes graduated from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He received a master in business administration from the

in 1969, where he was a Baker Scholar.

Career

Prior to his MBA, Hawes worked for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (now

AXA Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...

) for five years. Hawes founded Insurance Investment Associates, a

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

advisory firm for the insurance industry, in 1972. With coworkers, Hawes acquired the Life Re Corporation, a

corporation headquartered in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, in 1988. Hawes served as its chairman and chief executive officer. The corporation was listed on the

in 1992. It merged with

in 1998. Hawes served on the board of directors of W. R. Berkley Corporation.

Philanthropy

Hawes made a large donation to the Harvard Business School for the construction of Hawes Hall, named in his honor and completed in 2002. He also endowed the Beverly & Rodney Hawes Jr. Endowed Scholarship at

Charter Oak State College Charter Oak State College is a public online college based in New Britain, Connecticut. The college was founded in 1973 by the Connecticut Legislature and offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. Charter Oak State College is part ...

. Hawes has served on the National Advisory Council of the

Marriott School of Management The Marriott School of Business is the business school of Brigham Young University (BYU), a private university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and located in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 189 ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

since 1997.

Personal life

Hawes is married to Beverly. They have six children. Hawes was raised as a Presbyterian. He converted to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawes, Rodney A. Jr. Living people People from Owyhee County, Idaho Stanford University alumni Harvard Business School alumni American businesspeople in insurance American company founders American chairpersons of corporations American chief executives American philanthropists American Latter Day Saints 1938 births