A Pomfret School graduate, he served in the Navy before entering Princeton. He majored in economics and belonged to Cannon. Just prior to graduation he married Mary Lela Wood, an Ice Capades skater, whom he met during his Navy service.
After graduation he joined Alexander & Alexander, a multinational insurance brokerage. His career there was interrupted during the Korean conflict by three and a half years as a gunnery officer aboard the USS Roanoke. In the years following he rose to president, CEO, and chairman. He retired in 1988 but continued as a director until 1995. Throughout his career he held leadership positions in many associations dealing with the insurance industry.
After retirement he used his extensive business experience to co-author Spreading of Risk, a seminal book detailing the evolution of the insurance business.
His travels for business and with his wife, Lela, for pleasure, covered all seven continents. In 2007 he moved from a longtime residence in Greenwich, Conn., to Scottsdale, where he could enjoy his passion for golf year-round.
Jack is survived by Lela; children John, Stephen ’76, James, and Janet; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.