As Part of Succession Planning, Eastern Insurance Group LLC Announces Promotion of Timothy J. Lodge to President and CEO Effective January 1, 2022

Outgoing President and CEO John Koegel Will Continue as a Consultant

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Eastern Insurance Group LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern Bank, is pleased to announce the promotion of Timothy J. Lodge to President and CEO of Eastern Insurance as part of its succession planning. John Koegel has retired from his role as President and CEO of Eastern Insurance, and has become a consultant to the business, focused on cultivating potential agency acquisition opportunities.

“Tim has been an integral member of our Executive Leadership Team over the past two years overseeing the Commercial Lines Division in addition to serving as lead sponsor of a multi-year project to migrate our operations to a new agency management system,” said John Koegel, outgoing President and CEO of Eastern Insurance. “His knowledge, industry experience and strong relationships, both internally with our colleagues and externally with customers and in the community, position him exceptionally well to lead the business and team. We congratulate him on this well-deserved promotion and look forward to his continued leadership.”

Mr. Lodge has over 23 years of experience in the insurance industry, most currently serving as Executive Vice President of Commercial Lines at Eastern Insurance leading a team of more than 170 insurance professionals responsible for delivering an exceptional customer service experience and growing the Commercial Lines Division. He joined Eastern Insurance in 2013 and has taken on roles of increasing responsibility. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Accounts, and was promoted to the Eastern Insurance Executive Leadership Team in 2019. Mr. Lodge began his career as a Casualty Underwriter with Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, and he later spent 12 years at Aon Risk Solutions as Senior Vice President. He is experienced with risk identification, risk mitigation and risk transfer strategies. Mr. Lodge is a Board Member of Junior Achievement and the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation. He holds a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation, is a member of the Society of Certified insurance Counselors and is active in several other industry organizations.

In addition to the new roles of Mr. Lodge and Mr. Koegel, Eastern Insurance is pleased to announce several promotions to its Executive Leadership Team:

Mika De Young has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Market Relations and Specialty Products, responsible for managing property and casualty insurance carrier relationships with continued oversight for the placement of new business and specialty service offerings, which include Claims and Surety specialty divisions. Ms. De Young joined Eastern Insurance in 2004 and most recently led the marketing team overseeing commercial lines new business placements.

Julie DiMeo has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Commercial Lines Select and Personal Lines Service, responsible for the delivery of an exceptional customer experience to valued small commercial and personal lines customers. Ms. DiMeo brings over 35 years of experience at Eastern Insurance and has been instrumental in building the exemplary service model offered to the agency’s personal lines customers.

Dennis Gilligan has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Sales, responsible for all business lines and product offerings, including Personal, Benefits and Commercial Lines, with a focus on driving a more consistent sales process. Since July of 2015, Mr. Gilligan has led the agency in attracting new sales talent and building a unique platform to assist in business development.

Matt Shadrick, formerly Executive Vice President of Employee Benefits, will assume the newly created position of Executive Vice President of Strategic Customer Relations. In this role, he will enhance the customer experience with the agency’s most sophisticated and complex customers within Eastern Benefits Group, the Middle Market commercial practice and the Private Client personal lines practice. Mr. Shadrick brings 12 years of experience leading the Eastern Insurance Employee Benefits Group and over 30 years of experience in the industry to lead this important function.

Timothy Lodge, incoming President and CEO of Eastern Insurance added, “Under John Koegel’s leadership, Eastern Insurance has distinguished itself by delivering exceptional service to our customers and being a great place to work. I am honored to carry our plans forward with our outstanding colleagues and on behalf of our entire team, thank John for all that he has done and will continue to do.”

About Eastern Insurance Group LLC

Eastern Insurance Group LLC, headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eastern Bank. Licensed to do business in every state, Eastern Insurance serves more than 75,000 individuals and businesses and provides a full range of personal and commercial insurance products, as well as employee benefits services. Representing more than 50 national and regional insurance carriers, Eastern Insurance is recognized as one of the largest insurance agencies headquartered in Massachusetts and the 34th largest property and casualty agency in the United States. For more information, visit www.easterninsurance.com.

About Eastern Bank

Founded in 1818, Boston-based Eastern Bank has more than 110 locations serving communities in eastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. As of September 30, 2021, Eastern Bank had approximately $17 billion in total assets. Eastern provides banking, investment and insurance products and services for consumers and businesses of all sizes, including through its Eastern Wealth Management division and its Eastern Insurance Group LLC subsidiary. Eastern takes pride in its outspoken advocacy and community support that includes $240 million in charitable giving since 1994. An inclusive company, Eastern employs approximately 1,900 deeply committed professionals who value relationships with their customers, colleagues, and communities. Join us for good at www.easternbank.com and follow Eastern on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq Global Select Market: EBC) is the stock holding company for Eastern Bank. For investor information, visit investor.easternbank.com.