Genworth Expects to Name Jerome Upton CEO After McInerney Retires in 2026
Key Facts
Genworth Financial said Tom McInerney will retire as president and CEO and leave the board effective Dec. 31, 2026, in a transition that also includes a change in the CFO role. The company said in its announcement that the board expects to name current CFO Jerome Upton president and CEO and appoint him to the board when the change takes effect. It also expects Angela Simmons, currently CFO of the Closed Block segment, to become executive vice president and CFO of the company effective Jan. 1, 2027. The announcement thus sets a date for McInerney’s retirement and an expected transition in the executive and finance leadership roles at the start of next year. Upton served as interim president and CEO during McInerney’s absence in 2026.
Upton became executive vice president and CFO on March 1, 2023, after years in increasingly senior roles at the company and its predecessors. He joined Genworth or its predecessor companies in 1998, and his previous roles included deputy CFO and controller. From July 7 to Sept. 2, 2026, he served as interim president and CEO. On July 7, the company announced that McInerney would take a temporary leave of absence to focus on his health, and Upton was appointed to lead the company on an interim basis. Genworth then announced on Aug. 20 that McInerney would return to his role effective Sept. 2, ending Upton’s interim appointment as he continued as CFO.
When McInerney’s leave was announced in July, board chair Milena Higgins said that “Genworth is well positioned to continue its success, supported by a strong foundation of talented leaders.” This came as Upton took over interim leadership during the CEO’s absence. Second-quarter 2026 results show the company reported net income of $47 million, compared with $51 million in the same period of 2025. Adjusted operating income excluding Closed Block was about $112 million in both quarters. These results provide financial context for the leadership transition, without the leadership announcement linking the change to quarterly performance.
On returning capital to shareholders, Genworth repurchased $62 million of shares during the second quarter of 2026. Total repurchases since the program began reached $918 million as of June 30, 2026. On Sept. 2, the board increased the share repurchase authorization by $500 million. McInerney said at the time that the expansion reflected his confidence in the company’s financial position and its ability to return capital to shareholders. According to the authorization expansion announcement, the company had repurchased about 30 million shares for about $262 million under the previous $350 million authorization as of Sept. 1, with about $88 million remaining available under that authorization.
The company’s shares, GNW, closed at $9.03 on Oct. 29, 2026, after closing at $8.88 in the Oct. 28 session. These figures give the closing price on two consecutive trading days, without details on the session high or low. The move comes ahead of the company’s next announced investor event. Genworth scheduled its third-quarter results call for Nov. 5, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. The call will be the company’s next announced event following the leadership transition announcement.