Leadership Highlight

Name Rob
Education  Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from University of Iowa.  FCAS (Fellow of Casualty Actuarial Society); MAAA (Member of American Academy of Actuaries); CPCU (Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter).
Career Path  Actuary, Underwriting, Finance, Human Resources, Executive.

I have been working with State Farm for more than 18 years and first began with the company right after college as an actuary.  Over the years, I have worked in several departments including Actuary, Underwriting, Finance, and Human Resources, and I currently hold the position of Assistant Vice President of Human Resources.  In my current role, I have responsibility for Total Rewards, which are the things employees receive for working at State Farm – things like compensation, health care, a pension plan, a 401(k) plan, time off programs (such as vacation and sick leave),  and much more! 

What I love about State Farm is that it’s primarily a promote-from-within company, which provides tremendous career opportunity.  Professors usually tell students they will have seven different careers.  I am more than half way to having that many careers within the same company!  Few people would expect an insurance company to have building design jobs for engineers, journalists and TV/Radio personalities in Public Affairs, PHD’s in research, or teachers for in-house training.  We have departments that house lawyers and investors, and of course we have industry departments such as Claims and Underwriting.   We also have a bank, a credit union, and sell mutual funds and life insurance.    The options are endless.

State Farm is not a typical company.  That’s because we’re a mutual company owned by our policyholders, rather than being a stock company owned by stockholders.  Our goal is not to maximize share price, but rather to serve our policyholders.  This difference sets the tone for the entire organization.  It is not driven by  immediate results, but rather by doing the right things for our policyholders, employees and agents.  We are able to make decisions that are best for the long term, rather than short-term decisions just to please Wall Street.

For me personally, State Farm is more than just a company.  It’s a platform for me to achieve my life’s purpose, and I am emotionally attached to the values and principles that are pillars for the organization.  I am a cancer survivor.  I have had Hodgkin’s disease three different times.  My last treatment was a bone marrow transplant.  To have this procedure, I had to receive bone marrow from someone who was a perfect, genetic match.  The person who was a perfect match for me was a female from Germany.  However, Germany does not allow the donor and recipient to communicate.  So I am alive because of someone else, and I have no way of letting her know how grateful I am and what she has done for me and my family.  The only way I’ve been able to reconcile this issue is to live my life in a way that would make her proud.  I decided from the moment her bone marrow entered my body that I would spend the rest of my life helping others.

Working at State Farm is a perfect, professional alignment for my goal of helping others.  State Farm’s mission statement is to “help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams.”   That is precisely what my donor did for me.  Now I get to fulfill my life’s purpose every day at State Farm, and actually get paid for doing it.  It’s a wonderful feeling!!!!!!