I have dedicated my career to building businesses, advocating for education and making a difference in my community.I am the retired Senior Vice President and member of the Chairman’s Council for State Farm Mutual Insurance Companies and former President and CEO of State Farm General Insurance Company, the California affiliate of State Farm Mutual Insurance Companies.My career at State Farm began in 1968 in the company’s Ohio Regional Office. I worked in various roles in the organization, including Division Manager in the Pennsylvania Region, Executive Assistant in the President’s Office, Deputy Regional Vice President in the Northern California Region, and Regional Vice President in the South Coast Region. In 1998, I was named President and CEO of State Farm General Company and was appointed Senior Vice President to State Farm Mutual Companies in 2001.As California Senior Vice President and President & CEO of State Farm General Insurance Company, State Farm’s California homeowner and property insurance affiliate, I was responsible for a workforce of 6,000 employees and agents in California. State Farm has 5.4 million auto, home and other policies in force in California and assets of $15 billion in the state. I was promoted to State Farm’s thirteen-member Chairman’s Council in 2007. I am passionate about education improvement. I currently serve as Board Member of Educational Results Partnership and the Tiger Woods Foundation. In the past, I’ve served on the Board of Directors for the Coalition for Access to Education Resources, Aspire Public Schools and the NCAA Leadership Advisory Board. I also served as Board Chair for the California Business Roundtable, Junior Achievement of Southern California and the Los Angeles Urban League. In 2008, I was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the California State Board of Education.