Association for Co-operative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) President and CEO Gregory Maciag has announced he will retire in January 2016.

He will then serve as an adviser to the international standards organisation for another year, leaving in 2017, when he will have served 40 years.

The board plans to name his replacement at the Acord2015 event in Florida next November.

Mr Maciag joined ACORD in 1977, when it had four staff.

In his first week he attended an industry conference where a speaker said the industry would never have standard insurance forms and the task was impossible, Mr Maciag told Insurance News (the magazine) earlier this year.

He became CEO in 1994. Under his leadership, ACORD opened a London office and moved into Australia, South Africa, China, India and Singapore.

“The requirement for data standards became obvious to everyone as they wrestled with moving data between trading partners using proprietary systems,” Mr Maciag said.