One Of America’s Longest-Serving CEOs Has Advice On Humor And Risk

Aflac CEO Dan Amos Reveals His Strategy To Lead In A More Polarized And Personalized World.

_{By Diane Brady, Forbes Staff}

To understand Dan Amos’ approach to leadership, consider the first role he took at Aflac after graduating from the University of Georgia in 1973. As son of cofounder Paul Amos, one of three brothers who founded the insurance company in 1955, he could have hung out in the head office. Instead, he started in sales.

“I wanted an objective job, not a subjective job,” says Amos, 72, who went on to become the top salesman of the supplemental health and life insurance company—and its CEO in 1990. “Goal-setting always intrigued me and was something I liked.”