CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) announced today that John Hennessy has been appointed to the position of chief executive officer of CNA's European operations. The announcement reinforces the global insurer's recently announced strategy to grow its international operations, starting with CNA Europe.

"CNA is strongly committed to the European market," said Tom Motamed, chairman and chief executive officer, CNA. "We plan to expand our geographic footprint by further developing our European business.

"John's strong underwriting and field experience as well as his expertise in managing distribution, advancing an enterprise cross-sell discipline and establishing a visible, local presence in the marketplace make him well suited to successfully implement our strategy in Europe. In addition, his keen relationship building skills will be valuable assets as we expand our European distribution outlets."

Hennessy joined CNA in 1982 as an underwriting trainee and assumed increasing responsibilities. During his 27-year career with CNA, he has served in multiple Home Office and Field leadership roles, including: Milwaukee branch manager; Central Region president; senior vice president for Casualty Underwriting and Middle Market; and, most recently, senior vice president of Distribution Management.

Serving businesses and professionals since 1897, CNA is the country's seventh largest commercial insurer and the 13^th largest property and casualty company. CNA's insurance products include standard commercial lines, specialty lines, surety, marine and other property and casualty coverages. CNA's services include risk management, information services, underwriting, risk control and claims administration. For more information, please visit CNA at www.cna.com. CNA is a registered trademark of CNA Financial Corporation.


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This press release may include statements which relate to anticipated future events (forward-looking statements) rather than actual present conditions or historical events. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and generally include words such as "believes", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "estimates", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to a variety of inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results projected. Many of these risks and uncertainties cannot be controlled by CNA. For a detailed description of these risks and uncertainties please refer to CNA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.cna.com.

Any forward-looking statements made in this press release are made by CNA as of the date of this press release. Further, CNA does not have any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this press release, even if CNA's expectations or any related events, conditions or circumstances change.





CNA Financial Corporation

Katrina Parker, 312/822-5167

Source: CNA Financial Corporation