Santa Ana-based title insurer First American Financial Corp. has made two notable appointments to its board of directors: Thomas McKernan and Michael McKee.
McKernan is chief executive of Costa Mesa-based Automobile Club of Southern California, an insurer and travel and roadside services provider.
He oversees auto clubs in 20 states and an operation with yearly revenue of $4 billion.
McKernan also is a director of Los Angeles-based mutual fund manager Payden & Rygel Investment Group and a trustee of some of its funds.
He serves on a number of other corporate boards and advisory councils, including at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
McKee is best known for his 14 years at Irvine Company, including as chief executive and No. 2 to Chairman Donald Bren.
He left Irvine Co. in 2008.
McKee now is chief executive of Seattle’s Bentall Kennedy LP, which provides real estate investment advisory services for pension funds, university endowments and country investment funds.
He’s also a director of Long Beach-based healthcare real estate investor HCP Inc. and Escondido-based real estate investor Realty Income Corp.
“It is with great pleasure that I welcome Mike and Tom to our board of directors,” said Parker “Park” Kennedy, executive chairman of First American. “Both of these men bring to our company a wealth of practical operating and executive leadership experience. Their insight will prove invaluable as we pursue our growth strategy.”
McKernan and McKee join other high-profile folks on First American’s board.
They include George Argyros, head of Costa Mesa-based real estate investor Arnel & Affiliates, Jim Doti, president of Chapman University in Orange, and Virginia “Ginny” Ueberroth, chairman of the Ueberroth Family Foundation and wife of Peter Ueberroth.
First American Financial, the former title arm of First American Corp., emerged last year in a breakup of the company that also created Santa Ana data services company CoreLogic Inc.
