Panetta Resigns Zenith National Board to Head CIA

Property-casualty insurance company Zenith National Insurance Corp. said that board member Leon Panetta has resigned to become director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

President Barack Obama chose Panetta, a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and a former Democratic congressman from California, to head the agency.

Panetta had served as a member of Zenith’s audit committee and its nominating and corporate governance committee.

Zenith named Jerome L. Coben, a partner at Zeughauser Group, as Panetta’s replacement. Coben will serve on the audit committee and the health care committee.