Steven Zabel

Steve Zabel has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Unum Group since July 1, 2019, succeeding retiring CFO Jack McGarry. In the role he is responsible for the company's overall financial management, including financial reporting, treasury and capital management, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, investments, financial planning, investor relations, and global risk management. Unum is one of the largest providers of workplace disability, life, and supplemental benefits in the U.S. and U.K.

Zabel joined Unum in August 2013 as Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, where he built and led the company's global risk-management program. From July 2015 to July 2019 he served as Senior Vice President and President of Closed Block Operations, running the financial management and service operations of Unum's legacy long-term care and individual disability blocks — work that included implementing premium rate increases and improving investment yields on those runoff books.

Before Unum, Zabel spent more than nine years at Genworth Financial in senior finance roles, including Chief Financial Officer for insurance products and senior vice president of audit, and (per some accounts) leadership within its Long Term Care Insurance business. Earlier he handled financial reporting at Americo Life, and he began his career at Ernst & Young as an auditor of life and health insurance companies.

Zabel holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1990). His background combines audit, corporate finance, risk, and operating experience within the life and health insurance industry.

• Not a personal/angel investor. No public evidence indicates Zabel makes seed-stage or startup investments in a personal capacity. His "investing" mandate is corporate.
• As Unum's CFO, he steers capital allocation across dividends, share repurchases, debt management, and the company's large general investment account (fixed income and related assets backing insurance liabilities).
• Capital-return orientation: Under his tenure Unum has emphasized returning capital to shareholders — e.g., a $1 billion share repurchase program and a ~10% dividend increase announced around the 2026 outlook.
• Disciplined growth framing: On recent earnings calls he has guided to roughly 4%–7% top-line growth and 8%–12% EPS growth, stating, *"We feel good about an 8%–12% EPS growth rate."*
• Legacy-block risk management: A recurring theme of his career is de-risking and improving returns on long-term care and individual disability runoff blocks.