Cigna (NYSE:CI) today announced the appointment of Ralph J. Nicoletti as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Nicoletti will begin his employment at Cigna on June 20, 2011.<br /><br />Ralph Nicoletti assumes executive leadership responsibility for all of Cigna's financial operations and functions, as well as for Cigna's investment management and strategic planning units. He will be based in Bloomfield, Connecticut.<br /><br />Nicoletti brings decades of experience and success driving growth and realizing efficiencies in industries focused on meeting and exceeding customer needs. Most recently, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Alberto-Culver, Inc. in Chicago, a major manufacturer and marketer of personal care and household brands recently acquired by Unilever Group.<br /><br />“Ralph is an experienced global leader with the skills, strategic vision and passion to deliver strong results for our customers and shareholders,” said President and Chief Executive Officer David M. Cordani. “He is ideally suited to enable the execution of our growth strategy to best serve our customers and shareholders.”<br /><br />Nicoletti began his career in 1979 with General Foods, which was acquired by Altria Corp. and later combined with Kraft Foods Inc., where he held a number of accounting, finance, and auditing roles of increasing responsibility, attaining the position of senior vice president, corporate audit in March 2006. In February 2007, he became senior vice president and chief financial officer of Alberto-Culver, Inc. and then was promoted to executive vice president in August 2009. Nicoletti holds a bachelor’s degree and MBA from Pace University.<br /><br />Nicoletti will succeed Thomas A. McCarthy, who was named Acting Chief Financial Officer in September 2010. McCarthy will assume the position of Vice President of Finance. Cordani said, “We were fortunate to have someone with Tom’s institutional knowledge and experience seamlessly lead the financial operations during this interim period. I thank Tom for being a strong strategic advisor among the executive leadership team and allowing us to effectively execute on our growth strategy.”