Aflac today announced that effective immediately it has promoted Matthew D. Owenby from vice president, Human Resources, to senior vice president, chief human resources officer. 

Owenby will continue to report to Teresa L. White, president, Aflac U.S. In his new role, he will lead the effort to apply global initiatives to the corporation while providing strategic direction for both the Human Resources and Leadership, Learning & Development teams.

Regarding Owenby's promotion, White said, "Matthew's straight-forward, team-building approach has earned the respect of senior management, his colleagues and employees at all levels of the company. He is a strategic thinker with leadership qualities needed to continuously improve the way we recruit, hire, train and develop top talent in an ever-changing and competitive environment. He has an outstanding track record, and I am supremely confident that he will continue to exceed expectations." 

Owenby joined the company in early 2012 as vice president of HR Business Partners, bringing with him more than a decade of HR experience at Bank of America and General Electric. He most recently served as vice president of Human Resources at Aflac. Owenby earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Georgia State University and a Master of Business Administration from Mercer University. He's a member of the Society of Human Resource Management.