A native of Dublin, John has held senior leadership positions in insurance companies in Ireland and in the USA. He is a fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University, where he completed his MBA.

John began his career in the insurance industry in 1976 at Sun Alliance before his appointment in 1996 to the position of Chief Executive Officer at St. Paul Ireland (Now Travelers). In 2000, John moved to the United States to take up the position of President of Financial and Professional Services at St. Paul Travelers at their global head office in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Following a successful tenure with St. Paul Travellers, John was appointed Executive Vice President at ERIE Insurance Group, joining the company in 2007. In 2018 John joined Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group as its President and most recently as Chairman before he stepped down from his role to take up his new position.