AIA's McGuinness joining Unum Group

Martin McGuinness, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and a top lobbyist for the American Insurance Association, is joining the Unum Group, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurance company, later this month.

McGuinness will serve as vice president of government affairs for the company in its Washington office.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join this industry leading company,” McGuinness said. “Federal legislation and regulation continue to have an increasing role in financial services, and I’m looking forward to helping Unum engage in Washington in a positive and productive way.”

“Marty has a solid understanding of both government relations and the financial services industry,” said Scott Maker, senior vice president and chief government affairs officer at Unum. “His depth of experience and his insight into these sectors make him a fine addition to our team.”

McGuinness's move to Unum comes as a number of federal agencies are hard at work drafting new regulations to implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform overhaul.

Prior to joining Unum, he was vice president of federal affairs at AIA, which he joined in 2009 after working in the Bush White House.

While in the White House, he served for two years as the special assistant to the president for legislative affairs, where he was a main liaison between the administration and House of Representatives on financial services and commerce issues.

McGuinness also worked for Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) as Rules Committee associate and was a senior manager at Washington Council Ernst & Young.