Management

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Raul Vargas | Chief Executive Officer

Raul Vargas is CEO of Farmers Group, Inc. (Farmers).

Raul has more than two decades of international leadership experience across Latin America and Europe. He has had an extensive and successful career with the Zurich Group, and spent the past eight years as CEO of Zurich Santander Insurance America. Prior to this, Raul held a number of leadership roles in a variety of geographies, including Head of Distribution and Proposition Management of Zurich Santander in Madrid, Spain, Head of Life Business- Latin America in Miami, FL, as well as Chief Life Actuary and Head of Product Development in Milan, Italy. He joined the Zurich Group in 1997 as Life Actuary in Zurich Argentina.

Education: Bachelor of Actuarial Science and Economics, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Paul Wilson | Chief of Operations and Customer Service

Paul Wilson is Chief of Operations and Customer Service. In this role, Paul leads the IT and Service Operations teams and oversees the development and execution of all strategic operations and customer service initiatives.

Prior to joining Farmers, Wilson served as Group IT Leader and Chief Information Officer at Westfield Insurance. Prior to this, he was with Progressive Casualty Insurance for nearly 28 years serving in a variety of technology and business-related roles, most recently as a key IT applications executive leading Claims, Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Corporate IT functions.

Wilson is a member of the Corporate Executive Board and of the Accenture Insurance Innovation Executive Board. He is passionate about developing the teams he leads and has attended executive training courses at Harvard Business School for executive education.

Education: BS Applied Math, University of Akron, Ohio; BS Computer Science, University of Akron, Ohio; MBA, University of Akron, Ohio.

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Giles Harrison | Chief Financial Officer

Giles Harrison is Chief Financial Officer for Farmers Group, Inc. He is responsible for all financial matters including financial accounting and reporting, planning and performance management, investments, treasury, actuarial, tax and finance operations.

Harrison has held several key leadership positions at Zurich including his recent role as CEO Regional Markets EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) overseeing Zurich operations, and Head of Group Mergers & Acquisitions overseeing 40 transactions in 5 continents. Prior to that he served as Global Co-Head Financial Institutions Group, Global Banking & Markets at HSBC Group.

Education: B.A. Oxford University, Oxfordshire, England; M.B.A, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, MA

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Jim Hinchley | President of Farmers^® Business Insurance

Jim Hinchley is the President of Farmers Business Insurance, overseeing all aspects of the Business Insurance organization including, underwriting, product, strategy, finance, and new markets.

Jim joined Farmers in 2021, bringing with him an extensive background in the insurance industry, including a career with Liberty Mutual spanning nearly 22 years. Prior to joining Farmers, Jim served as Chief Operating Officer for North American Specialty at Liberty Mutual. At Liberty Mutual, Jim also held a series of leadership positions which included, Executive Vice President of Global Specialty, Executive Vice President of Business Insurance, Chief Underwriting Officer of Commercial Markets, and Chief Operating Officer of Liberty Mutual Reinsurance. Throughout his career, Jim has demonstrated achievement managing all functional insurance areas and overseeing a variety of commercial lines businesses.

Education: Jim earned his M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Melissa Joye | Chief Marketing Officer

Melissa Joye is Chief Marketing Officer, overseeing the Farmers brand and marketing strategy, advertising, lead generation, research and analytics as well as customer experience initiatives that deliver on our customer-centric strategy. 

Melissa joined Farmers in 2017 as the company’s first Chief Customer Experience Officer and was named Chief Marketing Officer in 2021. As Chief Customer Experience Officer, Melissa defined the company’s vision for customer experience and enhancing key capabilities, and built a team that worked across the business to design, re-engineer and digitize key customer journeys to deliver an easy experience.

Prior to joining Farmers, Melissa was based in London at American Express, where she led the Strategic Planning Group for the international portion of the business. She was previously a Principal at Bain & Company with a focus on serving clients in the financial services and private equity sectors. Melissa started her career in investment banking and then high yield bond research at Banc of America Securities in New York.

Education: M.B.A. with honors, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; B.S. magna cum laude, Economics, Duke University.

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Steve McAnena | President, Personal Lines

Steve McAnena is the President of Personal Lines. Steve joined Farmers in July 2019 and oversees all product development, strategy, and underwriting efforts for the Farmers® Personal Lines, Bristol West® and Foremost® lines of business.

Steve has more than 25 years of service with Liberty Mutual Group where he previously held several leadership roles, including serving as President of Business Insurance, Executive Vice President of Global Retail Markets, President of Liberty Mutual Benefits, and Executive Vice President of Commercial Insurance. In each of these roles, Steve helped cultivate already strong relationships with independent agents and brokers. Additionally, Steve served as President, Liberty Mutual Personal Lines Distribution and Executive Vice President, Personal Lines Chief Product Officer at Liberty Mutual Group where he led initiatives that include growth and line strategy, pricing, underwriting, predictive model building and catastrophe management strategies. 

Education: Bachelor of Business Administration, Actuarial Science, Temple University in Philadelphia.

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Tina Shaw | Chief Risk Officer for Farmers Group, Inc.

Tina Shaw is Chief Risk Officer for Farmers since January 2019.  In her role as Chief Risk Officer, Tina oversees the risk management function which continues to help the business succeed and provides challenges and insight. The risk function is responsible for the implementation of the risk framework and risk oversight/monitoring relative to risk appetite and tolerance so that the company is able to achieve its strategic goals.

Tina has been with Farmers since 2001 in various roles supporting Farmers business objectives by advising senior management on reinsurance strategies and profitability goals.  In recent years, she spearheads the production of Farmers’ Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) and manages the relationship with regulators regarding capital and solvency.  Her other responsibilities include managing the rating agencies’ relationship working in concert with the Exchange CFO.  In the ten years prior to her role in capital modeling, she managed the Farmers personal lines reserves of $5B.

Before joining Farmers, Tina has held several positions in the insurance industry. She was a manager at Deloitte’s Actuarial & Insurance Consulting where she performed audits and provided actuarial consulting services. In her time at the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), she managed the roll out of new open market workers compensation loss costs in the State of Nevada.  She began her career working in a risk management capacity at an insurance brokerage firm.

Education: Tina received her bachelor degree from UCLA in Math and Applied Science.  She is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Ken Walton | President of Distribution

Ken Walton is President of Distribution.  In this role, Ken sets the strategic direction for and leads the operational activities of the Farmers Distribution which includes the Exclusive Agent, Independent Agent, Strategic Partnerships, and Workplace Solutions channels.  

Walton has held numerous leadership roles in the insurance carrier and brokerage space over the past two plus decades.  He started his career with The Hartford with rotational assignments in claims, marketing, and underwriting and finished 13 years later as Regional Vice President responsible for P&C operations out of Northern New England.  He has also led Business Insurance sales for Allstate, led a retail brokerage operation for Brown and Brown, led regional underwriting for AmTrust Financial, and most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer for Acrisure.  In each of these roles, Ken has worked closely with producers and agents to grow their business and generate organic growth.    

Ken is on the Board of Advisors of the Risk Management and Insurance program at Virginia Commonwealth University.  

Education: BS Finance with a concentration in Risk Management and Insurance, Virginia Commonwealth University.  

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Steve Weinstein | General Counsel for Farmers Group, Inc.

Steve Weinstein is General Counsel for Farmers Group, Inc.

Weinstein joined Farmers after working as the Chairman of the Executive Committee for Barger & Wolen LLP. During his time at the firm, Weinstein handled a wide-range of complex business litigation and regulatory matters. Weinstein has experience in state and federal court class actions, bad faith and coverage litigation, unfair trade practice litigation and regulatory litigation for property-casualty and workers’ compensation insurance companies. 

While in private practice, Weinstein represented insurance companies throughout the United States, appearing before both state and federal courts. This representation included practicing before trial, appellate and supreme courts. Weinstein also specialized in administrative law and represented insurers in matters before Departments of Insurance, including matters involving rating practices, unfair claims practices, market conduct examinations, noncompliance orders, orders to show cause, enforcement actions, the development of regulations and administrative hearings. 

Education: J.D., cum laude, Southwestern University of Law; B.A., University of California, Los Angeles

FARMERS GROUP, INC.

Mark Welch | Chief People & Diversity Officer

In his role as Chief People & Diversity Officer for Farmers Group, Inc., Welch is responsible for leading the Human Resources (HR) team and driving the organization’s strategies related to people, culture and corporate structure, including its efforts related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Welch helps drive key HR best practices and initiatives, and provides strategic direction, expertise, and counsel regarding leadership, coaching, employee relations, talent acquisition and management.

Previously, Welch served in a number of leadership roles over the course of his 22 years at Northern Trust, most recently as Chief Human Resources Officer for its North America region. During his tenure at Northern Trust he also served as Chief Human Resources Officer for the APAC region (based in Singapore), Global Chief Talent Officer, and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. He began at Northern Trust leading Marketing for the organization’s Wealth Management business in the Western United States.

Welch was recognized as a Top 50 HR Professional by the National Diversity & Leadership Conference in 2021. He is a graduate of the 2021 McKinsey Black Executive Leadership Program, the 2019 Willis Towers Watson Cornerstone Program, and was a 2009 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Welch has received accolades from several news publications, including Black Enterprise Magazine’s "Top Executives in Diversity," Uptown Professional Magazine’s "Top 100 Executives in America," and Savoy Magazine’s "Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America."

Education: Mark majored in Economics and Environmental Studies (Policy and Planning) at the University of California at Santa Cruz and in 1996, was named an Irvine Fellow in Urban Policy & Planning at Stanford University.

FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE

Rob Howard | Chief Claims Officer

Rob Howard is Chief Claims Officer for Farmers. He was promoted to his current role in June 2018 after serving as the Head of Claims Shared Services since 2014. As the Head of Claims Shared Services, Howard led business units focused on providing services to the Claims organization and customers, including the Claims Contact Centers, Claims Support Services, Claims Training, the National Document Center, Special Investigations Unit, Strategic Initiatives and Subrogation.

Howard joined Farmers in 1987 as a claims representative in St. Louis, Missouri, and relocated to Southern California in 2000 when he became a technical manager for the California Zone. He then moved through a number of Claims managerial and directorial roles before joining the Farmers Claims senior leadership team as Head of Claims Compliance in 2009. In 2012, he became the Head of Property Field Claims.

Education: B.A., William Jewell College.

FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE

Jarrod Murrieta | Head of Claims Shared Services

Jarrod Murrieta was named Head of Claims Shared Services for Farmers Exchanges in January 2022. In this role, Jarrod is responsible for leading the business units that provide services to the Claims organization and its customers, including the Claims Contact Center, Claims Support Services, the National Document Center, Special Investigations Unit, Strategic Initiatives, Subrogation and the Claims training component of the University of Farmers.

Jarrod joined Farmers Insurance in 2007 and has held a variety of leadership positions with increasing responsibility. Prior to his current role, Jarrod was the Head of Catastrophe & National Property Operations, leading Farmers Claims Catastrophe Response and Logistics Management across the country. He has led claims organizations in Nevada, California and Hawaii. He also worked as the West Zone Strategy Manager for Auto Physical Damage claims and spent time with the University of Farmers claims division.

Additionally, Jarrod is a long-time champion of Diversity and Inclusion and currently sits as the co-executive sponsor for our Mindfully Fit Employee Resource Group. 

Education: Jarrod graduated with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Gender Studies from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE

Kim Hare | Head of Claims Property

Kim Hare was named Head of Property Claims for Farmers Exchanges in January 2022. In this role, Kim is responsible for leading more than 2,500 Property Claims employees across the country.

Kim joined Farmers in 2009 as part of the 21st Century acquisition. Since that time, she has held key leadership roles in Claims Shared Services with the National Med/Pip organization and a variety of important leadership roles in Auto Claims including her previous role as Head of Auto Central Zone, National Strategy Leader and Western Region Director. Prior to joining 21st Century and Farmers, Kim spent 23 years with American Family and GMAC in a variety of multi-line claims roles as well as policy services and sales. In total, Kim brings well over 30 years of wide-ranging experience in the insurance industry and countless successes and contributions. 

Education: Kim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and her Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). She is also Six Sigma Blue Belt certified. 

FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE

Thomas Noh | Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Noh is the Chief Financial Officer of the Farmers Exchanges, a position he has held since 2019.

Beginning his insurance career in 1989, Thomas started as an accountant and worked at Transamerica and Allianz. In 1996, he joined Farmers as an accounting specialist in the External Financial Reporting department. He was promoted to manager in 1999 and has held finance positions in Personal Lines, S A P and Property Claims. He became a Claims Finance Director in 2006 and was appointed as Assistant Vice President in 2010. In 2013, Thomas took on the role of Head of Claims Finance, Analysis and Quality Assurance.

Thomas also retired from the United States Army Reserve after 24 years of service as a Finance and Civil Affairs officer.

Education: Thomas has a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Northridge and a Masters in Business Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE

Richard Ing | Head of Business Insurance Claims

Richard Ing was named Head of Business Insurance Claims for Farmers Exchanges in January 2022. In this role, Richard is responsible for the overall strategic direction, leadership and management of Business Insurance Claims including Auto, TNC, Property, General Liability, Casualty, Environmental, Habitation, Work Comp, Professional Liability and Specialty. 

Richard joined Farmers in 2001 as a Liability Claims Representative and quickly progressed into leadership positions, all with increasing levels of responsibility.  Richard’s most recent position was Head of Auto West Zone Claims. In that role, Richard had responsibility for leading approximately 1,600 Claims associates with operational oversight for 10 states. Under his leadership, the team helped create APD higher expectations and processes, leading to national performance improvement.

Additionally, Richard is a long-time champion of Diversity and Inclusion and represents Claims on the enterprise D&I Council.

Education: Richard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a graduate of the Farmers Insurance Academy and speaks, reads and writes in Mandarin Chinese.

FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE

Tim Murray | Head of Auto Claims

Tim Murray is Head of Auto Claims for Farmers. In this role, he is responsible for Farmers automobile claims and personal liability claims operations. Prior to his current position, Tim was promoted to Head of Claims Shared Services in 2018 and was responsible for leading the business units that provide support services to the Claims organization and its customers. 

Murray joined Farmers in 2000 and served as a Claims Representative, Supervisor, and Manager for over 10 years with Subrogation Claims. He then joined the Property operation in 2011 and served in a variety of senior management roles including Specialty claims, Large loss and field operations. He served as the Head of National Operations and Property strategy before moving to Claims Shared Services. 

Education: B.S. Law Enforcement and Justice Administration, Western Illinois University.