Russ Johnston President of Nationwide’s Commercial Lines, Excess & Surplus and Specialty businesses

Russ Johnston serves as President of Nationwide’s Commercial Lines, Excess & Surplus and Specialty businesses. He joined Nationwide in 2021 after serving as Chief Executive Officer of QBE North America.

In a career that includes more than 35 years of experience leading insurance organizations, Russ has served in a variety of executive roles, including Chief Operating Officer of AIG’s US Commercial Business, President of Casualty Americas, CEO of AIG Environmental and President of AIG Risk Management. He began his insurance career as a commercial underwriting trainee at Chubb. Russ was also the founder of AIG’s first onshore rent-a-captive facility in Vermont.

A graduate of Syracuse University, Russ is active in both the industry and the community. He serves on the boards of directors of CyberAcuView and Geneva Re, and is the former Board Chair of the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). He also sits on the board of the American Red Cross Greater New York.