Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> December 3, 2002

Robert Moone – State Auto Financial Corporation (stfc)

STEVEN J. JOHNSTON was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of State Auto Financial Corporation in 1997, and became Senior Vice President in 1999. Prior to that, he served as Vice President, Assistant to the President and Chief Actuary. Originally joining State Auto in 1982, Mr. Johnston served as Manager of Commercial Lines Pricing before leaving for a brief period in the late 1980s. He rejoined the companies in 1990 as Director of Actuarial Services. He is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, the latter of which is an extremely accomplished and rare distinction among his peers. Mr. Johnston earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. Profile
ROBERT H. MOONE, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the State Auto Financial Corporation, was elected Chairman of the Board on January 1, 2001. Mr. Moone joined State Auto in 1970 in the commercial underwriting department. He had received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University four years earlier. His career in field underwriting included various commercial lines supervisory and management roles at State Auto, culminating in a branch underwriting manager position in 1980. After assuming posts as Manager of Sales Development, Director of Marketing, and Director of Sales and Marketing in the 1980s, Mr. Moone became Executive Vice President of Insurance Operations in 1993. He was elected President and COO in 1996 and added CEO to his title in 1999. Since becoming President, there have been several major milestones in the companies' history, including the acquisition of the Midwest Security Insurance Company, in Onalaska, Wisconsin, and the Farmers Casualty Insurance Company in Des Moines, Iowa. A merger of the State Auto companies with Meridian Insurance Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, which was effective June 1, 2001, resulted in the State Auto Group of companies exceeding $1 billion in premiums written. Mr. Moone has been an active member of many civic and industry boards, most recently being elected to serve on the Board of Governors of NAII and the Board of Trustees of AICPCU-IIA. Profile
TWST: Could we start out with a quick overview of State Auto

Financial?

Mr. Moone: State Auto Financial Corporation is actually a

downstream public company that's affiliated with State Auto