Edward Spehar to Join MetLife as Head of Investor Relations16:45 EDT Wednesday, October 03, 2012 NEW YORK (Business Wire) -- MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) announced today that Edward A. Spehar, 47, will join the company as head of investor relations. In this role, he will manage and coordinate the presentation of MetLife's financial results and business strategies to the analyst and investor community. He will report to John C. R. Hele, executive vice president and chief financial officer of MetLife. Spehar will join the company by the end of the year and succeeds John McCallion, who is becoming chief financial officer for MetLife's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. “With more than 20 years of experience analyzing insurance companies with broad and diverse businesses, Ed will be extremely valuable to MetLife and our shareholders,” said Hele. “He has a deep understanding of the intricacies of how insurers operate and, equally important, a great ability to effectively communicate with a variety of stakeholders. I'm excited to have him join us.” Spehar joins MetLife from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he has served as a sell-side equity research analyst covering the life insurance industry for approximately 19 years. In this role, he produced fundamental equity research on the industry and covered 15 publicly-traded insurers, including MetLife, American International Group and Prudential Financial. In addition to his experience at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Spehar held similar roles at Lehman Brothers and Ameritrust. Spehar received a bachelor's degree in management from Case Western Reserve University as well as a master's in business administration degree from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve. He is a chartered financial analyst. MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com. MetLife, Inc.For Media:Christopher Breslin, 212-578-8824For Investors:John McCallion, 212-578-7888