NeCastro To Be New CEO At Erie Insurance

June 02--ERIE, Pa. -- Timothy G. NeCastro didn't set out to be the CEO of anything.

The 55-year-old Erie native, a graduate of what's now Gannon University, trained to be an accountant and intended to make that his career.

"My Uncle Joe (Salvia) said we have good accounting genes in this family. You can make a good living for yourself doing this," he said.

It turns out Uncle Joe was right.

He was on hand Wednesday morning when NeCastro, 55, was introduced as the next CEO of Erie-based Erie Insurance.

Hundreds of employees, many leaning over balconies on the company's four-story atrium, broke into loud and sustained applause when NeCastro was introduced by Thomas Hagen, the company's chairman of the board.

"Sounds like a rock star," Hagen said.

NeCastro, a soft-spoken accountant, doesn't come across as a rock star. But the man chosen to replace Terrence Cavanaugh, the company's CEO since 2008, seems to have generated some enthusiasm at this high-profile employer, where colleagues were stopping him in the hallway to offer their congratulations Wednesday.

Hagen called his selection, which had been designed to identify an internal candidate, the most thorough and extensive in the company's history.

Cavanaugh, who announced plans in 2015 to retire by the end of this year, joked Wednesday that he felt like a "dead man walking."

But he had words of praise for his successor.

"I think he has skills that will enable him to solicit more points of view than I was able to do," Cavanaugh said.

The celebratory mood at Erie Insurance included plenty of good-natured quips about the heights to which Cavanaugh brought the company and the big shoes that NeCastro will have to fill.

NeCastro, who is of average height, doesn't stand out as much as Cavanaugh, who is 6 feet 8 inches tall.

But NeCastro wasn't joking when he spoke to fellow employees about his new responsibilities, saying he was humbled by his responsibility to the company's customers, agents and employees.

Calling Erie Insurance, "the finest company we are ever going to see," NeCastro said one of the company's greatest challenges is avoiding complacency.

"I know we are never going to let that happen," he said.

In an interview with the Erie Times-News, NeCastro said he didn't begin his career with designs on the front office.

"I seriously never contemplated this type of job in my future," he said. "It's kind of like one thing has led to another. I didn't wake up when I was 15 and say, 'Some day I'll be CEO of a Fortune 500 company.'"

That said, NeCastro said he feels well prepared, both by temperament and training, for the challenge of running the 90-year-old insurance company. It's a company that's been on a roll in recent years, collecting awards from J.D. Power and continuing to expand the number of people it insures.

NeCastro said his training in accounting and finance should help him "bring a different lens" to the job.

He'll have some time to adjust to his new duties. Cavanaugh is expected to remain for a transition that could continue for several months.

While Cavanaugh joined Erie Insurance from another insurance company, NeCastro was one of a number of homegrown products who applied for the position this time around.

He joined the company in 1996 as manager of internal auditing. He was promoted to senior vice president and controller in 1997 and served most recently as the company's senior vice president and regional officer for its seven-state western region.

NeCastro said he's built a lot of personal relationships with fellow employees over the years and is hoping those relationships will make him more effective.

"I have a very approachable style," he said. "I think people will find it easier to tell me what's on their mind. They always have, and I hope that continues."

JIM MARTIN can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmartin.

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