“Our advertising agency was in Central Park sitting on a bench. And they heard ducks and they noticed it sounded like Aflac,” the insurance giant’s CEO Dan Amos told Fortune. “And so the quack, quack, Aflac became the idea. And that’s how we got in.”
While the Aflac duck was a cash cow for the business, he doesn’t make any money himself, Amos told Fortune.
“The surveys showed us that he was wonderful,” Amos said. “And people enjoyed him, and he’s continued to be [wonderful].”
With such a big return to investors, it’s no surprise Amos’s most admired Fortune 500 CEO is Warren Buffett.
“He’s the most tenured CEO and he’s given fabulous returns to the shareholders,” Amos said. Like Buffett, Amos has a long tenure at his company. He’s been CEO of Aflac for 36 years. And at age 74, Amos is now the fifth-longest-serving CEO of any Fortune 500 company. Buffett, at 95 years old, has the longest tenure.
“I’ve seen a lot, and I think when you work with a good organization, you have to stay with them,” Amos said. “And Aflac has been a great place to work.”
A version of this story appeared on Fortune.com on March 26, 2024.
