Ramani Ayer has been chairman and chief executive officer of The Hartford, one of the nation’s largest investment and insurance companies, since February 1997. He formerly served as president and chief operating officer of The Hartford’s property-casualty operations, a post to which he was elected in 1991.

Ayer joined The Hartford in 1973. He was elected assistant secretary and staff assistant to the chairman and chief executive of The Hartford in 1979. In l983, he was named vice president of HartRe, The Hartford’s reinsurance subsidiary.

In 1986, Ayer was named president of Hartford Specialty Company. He was elected a senior vice president of The Hartford in 1989, and executive vice president in 1990.

Ayer earned master’s and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, Penn., and a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India.

He is a member of the board of directors of the American Insurance Association, the Insurance Information Institute and The Financial Services Roundtable. He is also a member of Business Roundtable and serves as chairman of BusinessLINC®.

He is chairman of the Metro Hartford Alliance, a member of the Board of Directors of Hartford Hospital and is a trustee of Drexel University.