Born during the Great Depression and raised during World War II, Richard C. Vie joined the military in 1958 during the Cold War. He studied at the University of Missouri and Saint Louis University and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in 1960. He was deployed to Barbara Point, HI, where he was stationed at Midway Island and eventually became the youngest aircraft commander in the history of his squadron, which was the largest in the Airborne Early Warning Squadron of the Pacific. During his time on Midway Island, he also co-piloted and survived a plane crash.
After serving in the military, Mr. Vie began his career as an affiliate of the Reliable Life Insurance Company from 1962 to 1979. He was then appointed president of the Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance Company from 1979 to 1982. He then served as chief executive officer, president, chairman, and on the board of directors of the United Insurance Company from 1983 to 1990. After this, he served as senior vice president and on the board of directors of Unitrin, Inc. (now Kemper Corporation) from 1990 to 1992, before becoming president and chief executive officer from 1992 to 1999. He later became chairman and eventually chairman emeritus of the company before retiring in 2009. In addition to his primary professional appointments, Mr. Vie also served as a trustee on the Life Underwriters Training Council of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and as chairman of the Life Insurance Conference in 1994.
Civically, Mr. Vie has been active with local and national military organizations, including the National Museum of the American Sailor Foundation, the Chicago Navy Memorial Foundation, Inc., Military Outreach USA, and several military support boards with the USO, Inc. He was also an affiliate of the U.S. Navy Memorial, chairman of the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and has served on several boards of institutions such as Concordia University and Valparaiso University.
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