We are deeply saddened to share that M Financial Co-Founder Peter Mullin passed away on September 18, 2023, while surrounded by his family. He resided in California and is survived by his wife Merle, five children, and 13 cherished grandchildren. Peter is predeceased by his daughter, Courtney Margaret Mullin.
In partnership with Peter’s family and close colleagues, we are honoring our legendary co-founder with an online memorial site where we can share memories, stories, photos, and videos of him. Please use the form below to write your memory of Peter or to upload a favorite photo or video.
Peter was a titan within M and the life insurance industry, recognized by many as one of the most successful producers of all time. In 1969, he founded the executive benefits and non-qualified plan advisory firm Mullin Consulting in downtown Los Angeles. He was the Founding Chairman of M Member Firm Mullin Barens Sanford Financial in Southern California, where he brought his extensive experience and expertise on executive compensation and benefit issues for publicly and privately held firms across a variety of industries, including many Fortune 500 companies.
Along with Mark Solomon, Carl Mammel, and the late Eli Morgan, Peter founded M Financial Group in 1978. He had a big, commanding presence in a room of any size. The passion Peter held for his extensive personal, professional, and philanthropic interests never failed to attract those who wanted to be close to him and share in his insights. He was deeply invested in thinking about the future of the industry and the evolution of M Financial and was a consummate client advocate.
Curious, compassionate, intense, thought-provoking, friend, and a “great force of intellect, forward-thinking, and legendary wit” are some of the terms long-time members of the M Community have used to describe Peter.
Peter served as Chair of the M Financial Board of Directors from 1996 to 2016 and remained on the Board into 2021. During his long run of service, he held positions on several M Board committees, including the Executive, Incentive Compensation Plan, and Nominating committees.
Peter’s contributions to M and the entire industry are immeasurable. In 2008, he received the Association of Advanced Life Underwriting’s Gerald H. Sherman Award, which recognizes “accomplishments and contributions in helping AALU fulfill its mission to strengthen, grow, promote, and advocate for the life insurance community.” Over his many successful years in the industry, Peter authored numerous published articles on executive compensation and benefit planning.
Peter also had broad success beyond financial services. He served on a variety of boards that aligned with his extensive interests, including Main Management, Good Samaritan Hospital, Art Center College of Design, St. John’s Health Center, and Avery Dennison, as well as on the boards of Occidental College, Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, Music Center Foundation, and Petersen Automotive Museum.
Peter’s passion for magnificent automobiles was well known around the world. He was the Founder and Chairman of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California. The New York Times described Peter’s museum as a “collection of gemlike structures … displayed just as you might have seen them had you attended one of the Paris auto salons in the Art Deco era between the world wars.” Since 2018, Peter had sought to establish Mullin Automotive Park and Museum in England at Enstone Airfield in West Oxfordshire. While it was still in the planning phase at the time Peter had passed away, he envisioned it to be a world-class automotive museum in the heart of the British countryside.
Peter’s interests were many and he worked tirelessly to become an expert in a variety of topics that allowed him to demonstrate an intense attention to detail and an uncompromising commitment to quality.
M Financial Group extends our heartfelt thoughts to Merle, the Mullin family, and Peter’s personal and professional colleagues, all of whom will miss him dearly.
