Thomas Benedict Leonardi[1] (born February 19, 1954),[2] is United States business executive in the insurance and financial services fields, who has worked in the public and private sectors.
His career includes decades as the head of investment banking and venture capital firms specializing in insurance, and he also has a background as a regulator and government adviser.
[3][4][7] In February 1989, along with four of his colleagues from Conning & Company, Leonardi founded Northington Partners, a Connecticut-headquartered broker dealer, venture capital, private equity, and investment banking firm specializing in the insurance industry, as its chairman and CEO.
[14] During his four-year tenure, Leonardi increased consumer education and public outreach, including on social media;[15][16][17][18] rolled out an emergency-operations center at the Connecticut Insurance Department to ensure that insurers respond quickly to disasters;[15][18] instituted numerous consumer-protection measures;[16][19][20] built productive relationships with consumer associations and industry trade associations;[18] fostered the creation and expansion of insurance business in Connecticut;[16] and advocated state, national, and global regulatory standards.
[18][22][23] He oversaw the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act in Connecticut and a well-functioning state portal and health insurance exchange to it,[18][19][24] recovered nearly $4 million annually for consumers by following up on complaints,[18][25] and stymied increased deductibles for Hurricane Sandy and Tropical Storm Irene.
He opposed the efforts of Solvency II proponents in the European Union to insist on an equivalent capitalization requirement for U.S. insurance companies.
[27][41][42] Under his direction the Connecticut Insurance Department (CID) became the first U.S. regulatory agency to join an international supervisory cooperation and information-exchange agreement.
[37][41][54][55][56] Although discussion of the letter was quashed at the meeting,[37][54][57] it generated much attention in trade journals,[37][57] and was referred to by congresspersons in a February 2014 House hearing on federal vs. state regulation of the insurance industry.
[36] In April 2014 Russ Banham dubbed Leonardi "Rebel with a Cause" in a lengthy analysis of the letter in the magazine Leader's Edge.
[60] In 2014 Leonardi was one of 20 people chosen to serve on the World Economic Forum's Global Council on Insurance and Asset Management.
[65] In November 2017 Leonardi joined AIG, hired by new CEO Brian Duperreault as executive vice president of government affairs, public policy, and communications.
[9][67] He oversaw AIG's global public policy and government affairs, and maintained communication with regulators that oversee the company at the state, federal, and international levels.