Pacific Mutual Names Bubb as Chairman

In a smooth and expected transition, Harry G. Bubb will replace Walter B. Gerken as chairman of Pacific Mutual Life Insurance, the Newport Beach company said Thursday.

Bubb, 62, who took over Gerken’s post of chief executive last year, will add the new post on Sept. 1, when Gerken, following mandatory company policy, retires after 12 years at the top.

At the same time, Thomas C. Sutton, 45, executive vice president for individual insurance operations, will take over Bubb’s duties as president of Pacific Mutual, the nation’s 24th-largest life insurance company. Sutton also will become a director.

The company’s directors also promoted three other executives--Harold T. Joanning, 60, to executive vice president for finance and administration; Arthur M. Kesselhaut, 52, to Sutton’s current position, and Glenn S. Schafer, 37, to senior vice president and chief financial officer.

During Gerken’s tenure, Pacific Mutual nearly quadrupled its size, hitting $5.5 billion in assets at the end of 1986 from $1.4 billion when he took over as chairman and chief executive in August, 1975. The company’s gains from operations--the equivalent of net income--soared to a record $30.8 million in 1983 but have since fallen to $9.3 million last year, down from the $12.1 million in gains during his first full year at the helm.