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David M. Monfried

Safeco (retired)

David Monfried recently retired from Safeco where he served as senior vice president – Corporate Communications.  He was responsible for the company’s public relations, employee and customer communications, and executive and financial communications.

Previously Dave was senior vice president – Corporate Communications for MetLife, responsible for MetLife’s worldwide advertising, public relations, branding, creative services and internal communications programs. His key achievements at the company included planning and implementing the company’s first worldwide brand management program; managing all internal and external communications related to the acquisition and integration of the Travelers Life & Annuity Company; reorganizing MetLife’s global communications functions, resulting in a more efficient and effective communications organization; and introducing an integrated approach to communications planning and program execution, at both the corporate and business unit levels.

Before joining MetLife, Dave was vice president of Corporate Communications for The St. Paul Companies (now Travelers), managing the company’s internal and external communications programs.

Dave held a similar position from 1993 to 1998 with the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. At D&B he was heavily involved with the communications surrounding the restructuring of D&B into three publicly traded companies and the later spin-off of Reuben H. Donnelley, the Yellow Pages publisher.

From 1983 to 1993 Dave was manager of corporate communications for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, in San Francisco.  At PG&E, he managed media relations during the most difficult years associated with the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant and managed the company’s communications in the days following the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. 

Dave’s teams have won three Silver Anvil awards: PG&E, for its communications following the Loma Prieta earthquake; The St. Paul, for its pioneer survey of technology companies’ risk managers about cyber risk and the insurer’s subsequent work calling attention to a variety of solutions for those risks; and Safeco, for its work in introducing the innovative, GPS-based product “Teensurance,” changing parent-teen conversations about driving.

Early in his career Dave worked for The Equitable, eventually managing its public relations, advertising, and sports marketing programs. 

He is a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a B.A. in journalism.

Dave, his wife, Martha, and their two children reside in Bellevue, Washington.