PRESENTERS >>>>>>>>>> Paula Rosput Reynolds President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Hughes Executive Vice President Insurance Operations Paula Rosput Reynolds is president and chief executive officer of Safeco Corporation, a Fortune 500 property and casualty insurance company with headquarters in Seattle. Before joining Safeco in January 2006, Reynolds was chairman, president and chief executive officer of AGL Resources, an Atlanta-based energy services holding company that includes six natural gas utility companies, wholesale services and energy investments. During her five-year tenure as CEO, AGL Resources expanded from a regional gas utility to a multi-state, integrated energy company. Under her leadership, the company doubled its share price and market capitalization, and increased its dividend by 37 percent. Active in the business community, Reynolds serves on the boards of directors of Delta Air Lines, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and the Seattle Art Museum, as well as Safeco. Reynolds previously served as president and CEO of Houston-based Duke Energy North America, which operates power-generating facilities across the United States; and as senior vice president of Pacific Gas Transmission Company, which owns and operates a major natural gas pipeline that runs through the Pacific Northwest. Reynolds graduated with highest honors in economics from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She worked as an economist with a Boston consulting firm before entering the energy industry in 1979. Mike Hughes is executive vice president of Insurance Operations for Safeco. His responsibilities include product development, pricing and underwriting for all of the company s personal and commercial lines. Hughes joined the company in April 2002 to lead commercial underwriting. Under his leadership, Safeco has significantly expanded its business product lines and implemented one of the most sophisticated automated underwriting platforms ever created for the small-business insurance market. His commitment to underwriting discipline and developing leaders has resulted in overall improved financial performance of Safeco s commercial insurance line. Prior to joining Safeco, Hughes served as executive vice president for The Hartford Financial Services Affinity Personal Lines, overseeing $1.4 billion in business. At The Hartford, he amassed more than 25 years of experience in commercial underwriting, managing both small-business and large-commercial underwriting operations. A graduate of St. John s University s School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science in New York, Hughes also completed advanced executive education programs at the University of Pennsylvania s Wharton School of Business and Duke University s Fuqua School of Business.
PRESENTERS >>>>>>>>>>>> Ross Kari Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer R. Eric Martinez, Jr. Executive Vice President Claims, Customer Care and Procurement As executive vice president and chief financial officer, Ross Kari oversees all aspects of Safeco s corporate finance, investment, financial planning and investor relations functions. Kari joined Safeco in June 2006 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, where he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. In that role, he directed the bank s operational divisions, including financial management, sales and marketing, credit and collateral risk management, controllers, information services, and community investment. Kari built his career at Wells Fargo & Company, a leading financial services company. During his 18-year tenure at Wells Fargo, he rose through the ranks from financial analyst to executive vice president and chief financial officer. Kari earned a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Oregon. R. Eric Martinez, Jr., is executive vice president responsible for claims, customer care and procurement. Martinez joined Safeco in July 2007. He was previously executive vice president of utility operations for Atlanta-based AGL Resources. In this position, Martinez managed thousands of employees over the eastern United States, including operations, customer service, engineering, information systems and vendor management. Martinez was responsible for strategic policy and management oversight of the company s regulated gas distribution operations, which included six utility subsidiaries that extended from New Jersey to Florida. He also was charged with overseeing engineering, construction and information technology functions of the company. Born and raised in Connecticut, he holds a bachelor s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University and a master s in Business Administration from Valdosta State University.
PRESENTERS >>>>>>>>>>>> Kim Garland President, Open Seas Insurance Timothy A. Mikolajewski Senior Vice President Surety Kim Garland is president of Open Seas Insurance, Safeco s new product research and innovation arm. In this position, he is responsible for developing product and service breakthroughs to differentiate Safeco in the marketplace. Garland joined the company in 2001 to serve as vice president of Auto Product Management. He was the lead architect of Safeco s new auto product structure for personal lines, a move that enabled the company to significantly expand its market appetite for auto insurance and helped improve the line s profitability and growth. He came to Safeco after 13 years at GEICO, where he held a variety of leadership positions in actuarial pricing, product management and service organizations. He has a Masters in Mathematics from the University of Virginia and is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society. Tim joined Safeco Insurance Companies in the Cincinnati, Ohio office in 1984 as a surety representative. In 1986 he was transferred to California, where he became contract manager for the Pacific Southwest Region. Mikolajewski transferred to the Seattle home office in 1994 as assistant director of contract surety, and in 1999, he was appointed vice president for Safeco Insurance Company. Mikolajewski was named senior vice president of Safeco Surety in 2006. In addition to his responsibilities as the leader of Safeco Surety, Mikolajewski also has overall profit, loss, and performance responsibilities for all Safeco products in the state of California. Mikolajewski is a past Chair of the Surety Association of America s Contract Bonds Advisory Committee. He currently represents Safeco as a Board Member of the Surety Association of America. He has also been actively involved in the AGC Surety Bond Committee. Mikolajewski is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a BBA in Finance and Marketing. He also has an MBA from Xavier University.
PRESENTERS >>>>>>>>>>>> Linda A. Shepherd, FCAS, MAAA Vice President and Chief Actuary Safeco Personal Insurance Jim Swegle Vice President Safeco Personal Insurance Linda A. Shepherd is vice president and chief actuary of personal insurance for Safeco Insurance Companies. She has 26 years of experience in the property and casualty industry. As chief actuary, Shepherd is responsible for pricing, reserving, research and risk management analyses for personal lines auto, personal lines property and other related products. She manages a staff of 40 actuarial professionals. Shepherd began her career at Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford, CT in its actuarial science program. After nine years at Aetna, she became vice president, insurance operations for Ulico Casualty Company in Washington, D.C. In 1994, she joined Prudential Property and Casualty Insurance Company as its chief actuary. She joined Safeco in 2002. Shepherd graduated from the University of Pennsylvania s Wharton School of Business in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics, majoring in Actuarial Science. She became a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries in 1987, and a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society in 1988. Shepherd serves on several insurance industry committees, including the Insurance Research Council, where she serves as the organization s Treasurer. She also currently serves as a board member of the Highway Loss Data Institute. Jim Swegle is vice president of Safeco Personal Insurance product management. He is responsible for the product design, profit and growth of personal auto and specialty insurance lines such as motorcycles, recreational vehicles, and umbrellas. Swegle s career with Safeco started in 1983 as a personal lines underwriter in California. He held a variety of management positions in personal lines from 1985 through 1992 before moving into general management. He was promoted to St. Louis Branch vice president in 1995 with responsibilities for all personal lines, commercial production and field operations for Missouri, Southern Illinois, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. In 1997, he returned to California as the vice president for the southwest region with responsibilities for all personal lines, commercial lines and field operations in California and Nevada. Swegle moved to the Safeco home office in August 2001, where he was named vice president of Safeco Personal Insurance property product management. He has been responsible for specialty products and auto products for the eastern United States since September of 2006. Swegle has a BA in Business Administration with a major in Finance from the University of Washington and he earned the CPCU designation in 1995.
PRESENTERS >>>>>>>>>>>> Thomas M. Troy, MBA, CPCU Senior Vice President Safeco Business Insurance Randy Wise Vice President Online Experience Tom Troy is the senior vice president for Safeco Business Insurance. In this role, Troy is responsible for Safeco s commercial lines operation, and Safeco Business Insurance product management, actuarial, and the Special Accounts Facility (Large Accounts) report to him. Previously, he served as the vice president of product management for Safeco Business Insurance. During his 14-year tenure with Safeco, Troy has also served as the director and assistant vice president of commercial casualty underwriting and multi-line manager for national accounts. Prior to joining Safeco, Troy was a commercial underwriter at Kemper National Insurance Companies. Troy holds a Bachelor s degree from the University of Washington and an MBA from Seattle University. In addition, he holds the CPCU designation. As vice president of online experience, Randy Wise is responsible for delivering a compelling new online experience to consumers, policyholders and agents. Wise joined Safeco in 2007 from Microsoft, where he most recently served as strategy director for the Global Relationship Marketing group. In this role, Wise focused on customer strategy and in-market execution, working collaboratively with Microsoft s global business units to improve customer engagement, drive customer loyalty and accelerate revenue through digital channels. During his seven years at Microsoft, he led the development of core digital marketing capabilities and several online initiatives, including the Mid-Market Relationship program and the Small Business Plus program. A native New Yorker, Wise honed his marketing skills during a 10-year career at American Express. He subsequently led marketing functions at two online ventures. Wise is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Science from the School of Engineering and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School. He also has an MBA from the Stern School of New York University.
PRESENTERS >>>>>>>>>>>> Jason L. Wrather Vice President Safeco Personal Insurance Jason Wrather is vice president of Safeco Personal Insurance product management. In this role, he is responsible for the profit and loss of Safeco s personal property operation. Previously, Wrather served as assistant vice president/senior product manager in personal lines property. Prior to joining Safeco in 2004, Wrather held various actuarial and product management roles with GMAC Insurance, Allstate, Progressive and American National Insurance Company. He has over 15 years of experience in the industry. Wrather holds a Bachelor s degree in Mathematics with a Minor in Insurance from Missouri State University. In addition, he is the inventor of U.S. Patent #6,694,234 Insurance Customer Service & Claim operation