Mr Renwick (69) attended Pine Hill School, Dunedin North Intermediate and Otago Boys’ High School before his parents moved to Christchurch at the end of his year 13 year.
He attended the University of Canterbury, where he studied mathematics and economics, and later pursued a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering at the University of Florida.
In an article about notable alumni, the University of Canterbury said he started his career as an engineer at Bell Labs then moved to American insurance giant Progressive for 32 years, half of which he spent as chief executive.
He helped build the business from one bringing in hundreds of millions in revenue to one that now brings in $US50 billion ($NZ85b), making him one of the very few New Zealanders to have led a Fortune 500 company.
Twice included in the Forbes 40 list of most admired CEOs in the world, he also sat on the board of global fintech company Fiserv for 19 years and the world’s largest healthcare company, United Health. — APL
