State Farm announced that John Farney, the company’s chief financial officer, will become president of the insurance giant effective January 1.
Fernie’s appointment is the first step in succession planning ahead of CEO Michael Tipford’s expected retirement next year.
“John will work with Chairman and CEO Michael Tipford to lead State Farm in its long-standing mission of helping people,” State Farm spokeswoman Angie Harrier told WGLT. It will become.”
Fernie joined State Farm in 1993 and has held various leadership roles within the company.of Illinois State University graduate In 2016, he became the company’s senior vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer.
State Farm appointed Tipford as president in 2015, replacing Ed Rust, who served as the company’s chief executive officer for 30 years, longer than anyone else in State Farm’s 101-year history. , later appointed CEO.
Harrier noted that Tipford recently shared with State Farm employees his plans to retire in 2024.
Harrier continued: “While this role is very important to him, I am excited about the selection and announcement of his successor (as Chairman of the Board and CEO), which is likely to take place in the first half of this year.” He said.
Tipford has led the insurance company through a period of industry volatility and increased competition as other companies competed against traditional insurance companies to gain market share. State Farm suffered record underwriting losses last year and outsourced some of its IT operations to cut costs.
Bloomington-based State Farm is the nation’s largest home and auto insurance company. Bloomington-Normal has more than 13,000 employees.
