ORANGE COUNTY

William F. Kieschnick, president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Richfield Co., and Allen W. Mathies Jr., dean of the USC School of Medicine, have been elected to the board of directors of Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Newport Beach.

“We look forward to the input, experience and judgment Mr. Kieschnick and Dr. Mathies will bring to our deliberations as we continue to participate actively in the rapidly changing financial services industry,” said Pacific Mutual Chairman Walter B. Gerken.

Kieschnick, 62, has been with Atlantic Richfield since graduating from Rice University in 1947 with a degree in chemical engineering. He was elected a vice president of the company in 1966, was named executive vice president and a director in 1973 and in 1981 was named president.

He also serves as a trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and is a director of First Interstate Bancorp and TRW Inc.

Mathies, 55, joined the USC School of Medicine in 1962 and was named a full professor in 1971. He served as head physician of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center’s communicable disease service from 1964 to 1975, when he was named dean of the USC School of Medicine.

He currently is senior attending physician in pediatrics at the center and chairman of the Scientific Board of the California Medical Assn.

The two men were elected to one-year terms on Pacific Mutual’s 16-member board of directors, which oversees operations of the company’s life and health insurance, pension plan and investment management services.

With a total of $23 billion of life insurance in force and $12 billion in assets and assets under management for clients, Pacific Mutual is the largest mutual life insurance company headquartered in California and is one of the largest life insurers in the nation.