James P. O’Brien

James P. O’Brien is executive vice president of specialty business at FM. In this role, O’Brien leads FM’s differentiating and expanding specialty portfolio, which includes FM Intellium, FM Solutions, Velocity Specialty Insurance Company (VSIC), FM Boiler Re, FM Cargo operations, Chemical Operations, Forest Products and FM Renewable Energy.

O’Brien began his career with FM in 1989 as a loss prevention engineering consultant. His deep expertise in specialty risk and underwriting has guided his success across multiple leadership roles, including senior vice president and Central division manager; vice president and operations manager for Chicago operations; and vice president and division underwriting manager for the Central division. Most recently, he served as senior vice president for Canada and specialty industries, based in Chicago.

O’Brien holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering sciences from Loras College and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Northern Illinois University. He also earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designations from the American Institute for Chartered Property Underwriters and the Insurance Institute of America, Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA.