John J. Leahy resigned as executive vice president and CFO of Hanover Insurance Group Inc. after less than three weeks on the job, citing personal reasons, the company said.
Worchester, Mass.-based Hanover didn’t elaborate on the departure of Leahy, although spokesman Michael Buckley told CFO.com that it “was a purely personal decision,” and no questions were raised “relative to financial issues or disclosures.” In reply to an email from CFO.com, Leahy said: “It would be best for me to make no comment.”
Leahy began his assignment at Hanover on Sept. 1, two months after his previous firm, Boston-based Keane Inc., was taken private by outsourcing company Caritor Inc. for $854 million. At Keane, he been finance chief and executive vice president since 1999. During his tenure at Keane, he also served for a time as interim president and CEO. Those positions became open when previous CEO Brian Keane was forced to resign after two sexual-harassment lawsuits were filed by female employees in June 2006.
Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission requested documents from Keane related to the company’s stock-option granting practices. The business process and IT services company said it intends to cooperate with the regulator’s inquiry.
Hanover Insurance spokesman Buckley told CFO.com that his company has started looking for a successor for Leahy, and that for the time being the financial team will be lead by CEO Frederick H. Eppinger. Said Eppinger, in a statement: “We have a very strong and experienced finance organization and I have every confidence we will manage through a smooth transition to new leadership.”