Pacific Specialty Insurance Company has elected John Chu as president and chief executive officer, the company announced Friday.

Chu continues to serve as chairman of the Menlo Park, Calif.-based property/casualty insurer, a position he has held for two years.

Chu succeeds Brian S. Cohen, who resigned to pursue other opportunities.

Prior to becoming CEO, Chu was an operating partner with Altamont Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital. He currently sits on the boards of directors of Wedbush Securities and FirstBest Systems, as well as Accenture’s Board of Advisors.

He was previously senior vice president, e-Business and Technology, for The Hartford’s property/casualty operations, responsible for technology strategy and operations. He had served as vice president, Strategic Business Development and as chief financial officer for The Hartford’s personal lines division.

Before that, he was a managing consultant for Tillinghast-Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson), managing numerous engagements with Fortune 100 financial services companies.

Earlier in his career, Chu served as vice president with Lehman Brothers Asia and also held several positions with PepsiCo Foods International, including director for PepsiCo’s Asia-Pacific operations.

“Our strong commitment to our independent agents and brokers will always be the foundation of our strategy, and I look forward to working closely with our key partners,” Chu said in a statement announcing his new roles at Pacific Specialty.

He holds an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from University of California at Los Angeles.

Based in Menlo Park and Anaheim, Calif., Pacific Specialty serves individuals and small-business owners with specialty and general policies, including homeowners insurance, powersports insurance, and business insurance.

Source: Pacific Specialty Insurance Company