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CEO of Western & Southern Financial Group
John F. Barrett is the American chairman, president and chief executive officer of Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc.
Barrett has served as CEO since 1994 and as president since 1989. Under Barrett's leadership, Western & Southern has grown from a small Midwestern life insurance company founded in 1888 into a national financial services enterprise and has doubled in size every five years for the past 15 years. Western & Southern has assets owned, managed and under care in excess of $100 billion as of 2021 and is one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups in the world, based on its Standard & Poor's rating.
During the Great Recession, Western & Southern maintained strong economic health with Barrett at the helm. The company was able to develop, through its subsidiary Eagle Realty Group the largest office building in southern Ohio, the Great American Tower at Queen City Square. Barrett's leadership in securing a tenant for the Tower helped to ensure its success. The Great American Tower, opened in January 2011, is part of the Queen City Square complex that totals more than one million square feet.
John F. Barrett (born March 16, 1949) Barrett graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. He obtained a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Cincinnati in 1971. He was a member of the Ohio Epsilon chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at UC. He was president and CEO of the Bank of New York (Delaware) before joining Western & Southern in 1987.
