Susan S Bies

Susan Bies has been a member of the Boards of Zurich Financial Services and of Zurich Insurance Company since April 2008. Ms Bies began her career in 1970 as regional and banking structure economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Missouri, and two years later became assistant professor of economics at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. In 1977 she moved to Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee in a similar role, and in 1979 joined First Tennessee National Corporation in Memphis, where she remained until 2001. During the early years, her areas of responsibility included tactical planning and corporate development. In 1984 she became chief financial officer and chairman of the asset/liability committee. In 1995, she became executive vice president of risk management, and auditor and chairman of the executive risk management committee, as well as continuing her duties with the asset/liability committee. From 2001 until 2007, she was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Between 1996 and 2001, Ms. Bies was a member of the Emerging Issues Task Force of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. She is currently a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission's advisory committee on improving financial reporting, and chairman of its substantive complexity sub-committee. Ms Bies graduated with a BS degree from the State University College at Buffalo, New York, and with a MA degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, where she later gained a PhD.