At the recent meeting of the Board of Directors of ICMIF/Americas there was a warm welcome for the newest member of the Board, Juan A. Lugo Meléndez. In addition to a seat on the ICMIF/Americas Board, Juan also sits on the main ICMIF Board of Directors. Juan is the Executive President of Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples, a position he has held since January 2018. His professional career has been closely bound to this cooperative insurance enterprise for over 40 years.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in accounting from the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus. Subsequently, he also obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration, with a major in finance and marketing from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico.

Juan began his career as accountant and comptroller at the Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples in 1971, fulfilling tasks related to the analysis of financial statements, reinsurance, and production of yearly financial status reports. He was also in charge of preparing the statutory Annual Statement for the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico.

Subsequently, in response to the company’s sustained growth, he went on to become Vice President of Finance, a position which he occupied until his retirement in 2001. However, he continued serving as a consultant to the cooperative’s president from 2001 to 2009 in areas related to finance and investment, and in the management of the Contemporary Art Collection for the organisation. From 2009 to 2017, the experienced executive re-joined the Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples management team as a consultant in finance, investment, and reinsurance, in addition to sitting on several advisory committees and boards of trustees.

On 1 September 2017, Juan began working as Executive Vice President and held that position until being officially appointed Executive President early in January 2018.

Speaking about his relationship and that of his organisation with ICMIF, Juan says: “My organisation, Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples of Puerto Rico, has been a member of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) for over 40 years. Various executives from Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples have taken an active role in the ICMIF Board of Directors. This relationship has given rise to a fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences which, I feel, have enriched both organisations and helped the development of cooperative and mutual insurance in the Americas and also globally. The mission of Seguros Múltiples is the same of that of ICMIF, which is to contribute to the growth of the cooperative and mutual insurance market through networking, knowledge and influence. Seguros Múltiples has hosted many ICMIF events, conferences and meetings of the directors and members of ICMIF, all of whom have found a warm welcome in Puerto Rico and a place in which to learn about the insurance market in our country as well as in other Latin American countries.

“The two organisations, Cooperativa de Seguros de Vida and Grupo Cooperativo Seguros Múltiples, are the two insurance providers in Puerto Rico working to the cooperative business model. In general, the insurance industry is one of the strongest sectors in my country and is made up of approximately 25 companies, which sell life, property and contingency insurance. This industry generates a multi-million dollar annual income for my country which has a very positive impact on the island’s economy and provides more than 5,000 direct jobs for people,” he concluded.