RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) announced today it has named Mark W. Griffin chief investment officer (CIO). Griffin has served as senior vice president and chief risk officer of Genworth and its predecessor company since 2000, and has been acting CIO since June 2005.

Griffin brings more than 23 years experience in the insurance industry to his new role, including 14 years on Wall Street advising the insurance sector in the areas of investments, asset and liability management, securitization, actuarial, and enterprise-wide risk management in both Europe and the U.S. He has worked with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Metropolitan Life.

"As acting CIO, Mark has made strong progress in building our investment strategy, infrastructure and team," said Michael D. Fraizer, Chairman and CEO of Genworth Financial. "Mark's deep experience and broad knowledge are perfectly suited to today's investment climate. In his new role Mark will focus on driving core growth through the repositioning of our investment portfolio to ensure that we optimize risk-adjusted returns."

Genworth is conducting a search to fill the position of chief risk officer vacated by Griffin on his promotion to CIO.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth (NYSE: GNW) is a leading insurance holding company, serving the lifestyle protection, retirement income, investment and mortgage insurance needs of more than 15 million customers, and has operations in 24 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K. and more than a dozen other European countries. For more information, visit http://www.genworth.com

SOURCE Genworth Financial

CONTACT: Tom Topinka, +1-804-662-2444, Thomas.topinka@genworth.com or for Investors: Alicia Charity, +1-804-662-2248, Alicia.Charity@genworth.com, both of Genworth Financial