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OFII issued the following statement
WASHINGTON – The Organization for International Investment (OFII) announced today that Dennis Kerrigan, executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Zurich North America, has been elected by its membership to serve as chairman of the board of directors.
“Dennis has been an invaluable asset to OFII’s advocacy efforts,” said Nancy McLernon, president and CEO of OFII. “His creative strategic thinking, combined with his distinguished legal experience, positions him to be enormously helpful as OFII continues to promote policies that will encourage global companies to establish U.S. operations, increase American employment, and boost U.S. economic growth.”
OFII represents approximately 170 U.S. subsidiaries of major employers headquartered abroad, such as Nestlé, Siemens and Toyota. Nationally, FDI firms directly employ 6.4 million U.S. workers, or 5.2 percent of private sector employment.
“I’m very pleased to assume this leadership role at OFII, which has been singularly effective at bringing together many of the world’s leading global companies to advocate for a level tax and regulatory playing field in the U.S.,” offered Mr. Kerrigan. “Having just led the construction of Zurich’s new headquarters in North America, I have witnessed first-hand the powerful effect that foreign direct investment can have on the U.S. economy, both in terms of the hundreds of construction jobs we generated, as well as the long term effect that our skilled insurance workforce has on the Chicago area. As chairman of OFII’s board of directors, I look forward to working with federal, state and local officials to ensure that similar investments can be made by other global companies around the U.S. in the coming years.”
FDI companies in the United States pay an annual payroll of $510 billion, providing U.S. workers an average compensation of $80,041 – 30 percent higher than the economy-wide average. These companies also spend $57 billion annually on U.S. research and development activities. That is more than 17 percent of all R&D performed by U.S. companies.
Mr. Kerrigan succeeds Jake Jones, executive director of Daimler’s external affairs & public policy operations in North America, as OFII’s board chairman. Mr. Kerrigan is an accomplished litigation and dispute resolution attorney with 20 years of trial experience, including high-profile cases in both state and federal courts. Having earned a law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary and a bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross, Mr. Kerrigan has been recognized by several business and legal publications in the field of insurance law. Additionally, he has served as editor-in-chief of the Tort & Insurance Law Journal, published by the American Bar Association. He has also taken on leadership roles with several charitable organizations in the Chicago area, including Habitat for Humanity and Chicago Catholic Charities.
