George Nichols III serves as the 10th President and Chief Executive Officer of The American College of Financial Services, the nation’s largest nonprofit educational institution devoted to education for insurance and financial professionals, executive corporate and nonprofit leaders, and consumers. His extensive and distinguished decades-long career encompasses insurance and financial services regulation, education, and business activities. Prior to joining The College in 2018, he spent 17 years with New York Life Insurance Co. There, he held positions in sales, strategic initiatives, and public policy, served as executive vice president in the Office of Governmental Affairs, and was elected to its Executive Management Committee, a group of senior executives tasked with assisting the CEO in setting company policy.
Before New York Life, he was Insurance Commissioner of Kentucky, where he led regulation of the state’s $10 billion insurance industry. During his tenure as Commissioner, he also served a one-year term in 2000 as President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). He was both Kentucky’s first Black insurance commissioner and the NAIC’s first Black president.
George sits on the boards of Republic Bancorp, Inc., and OneAmerica Financial. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for City Year, a national service program that offers young adults from diverse backgrounds a year of full-time community service.
George earned his Associate degree from Alice Lloyd College, his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Sociology from Western Kentucky University, and his Master of Arts (M.A.) in Labor Studies from the University of Louisville. He was recognized by Savoy magazine as one of the Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America in 2012, 2018, and 2021. Because of his leadership in launching The College’s Center for Economic Empowerment and Equality and its Four Steps Forward plan to promote upward mobility and wealth creation for Black America, George was honored as one of “The Ten to Watch in 2021” by WealthManagement.com. The same year he was the inaugural recipient of the Alonzo Herndon Award, named for the founder of The Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the U.S., and was also named to Forbes’ inaugural edition of “The Culture 50 Champions,” which identified models of business excellence in various industries who uplift Black and Brown communities through their craft and philanthropic efforts.
George joined the RGA Board in 2022.