Leadership

Mike LaRocco

Mike LaRocco

Mike was named State Auto's President and CEO in May 2015. He has extensive experience in the property and casualty insurance industry, including roles at Progressive, GEICO, Safeco and Fireman’s Fund. In 2011, he began a startup effort that became AssureStart, a company that sells small business insurance online. Mike shares State Auto's deep and longstanding commitment to the independent agency system and is committed to upgrading State Auto's technology and becoming a faster and more innovative product provider.

Robert Baker

Elected in 2007

Baker has served as a senior marketing executive at several of the nation’s premier consumer products companies, including Conagra, Kraft, and Procter and Gamble. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of DHR International, an executive recruiting firm. Baker, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is a Mableton, Ga., resident who holds an undergraduate degree from Tuskegee University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Michael J. Fiorile

Elected in 2015

Michael J. Fiorile served as Chief Executive Officer of The Dispatch Printing Company, a privately owned, regional print and broadcast media company. He also served as Vice Chairman and CEO of the company’s subsidiary, Dispatch Broadcast Group, which included television and radio stations and cable operations.

Kym M. Hubbard

Hubbard recently retired as global head of investments, chief investment officer and treasurer for Ernst & Young, LLC. She has over 30 years of financial services experience, including roles in private partnerships, insurance, government, investment banking, capital markets, banking and audit/public accounting. She is a graduate of Bradley University.

James E. Kunk

Kunk retired as president of the Central Region for Huntington, a company he has served since 1981. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and The Graduate School of Banking at The University of Wisconsin. He currently serves as a board member for CAPA (Columbus Association for the Performing Arts), Franklin University, Columbus College of Art and Design, Central Ohio Transit Authority, Franklin County Convention Authority and the Columbus Zoological Association. He is also a member of the Bank Trade Organization, Robert Morris Associates.

Michelle Lantow

Lantow is a member of the board of directors of Columbia Bank, a publicly-traded community bank serving communities throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho. She served on the advisory board of WomensVCFund II, which invests in which invests in early stage (A/B), revenue-generating, high-growth companies led by management teams inclusive of women. She has previous senior financial management experience at New Seasons Market, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants Inc. and lucy activewear Inc.

Eileen Mallesch

Elected in 2010

Mallesch most recently served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Nationwide Property and Casualty Insurance Company. From 1998 to 2005, she served General Electric Co. as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Genworth Life Insurance, vice president and chief financial officer of GE Financial Employer Services Group, and controller of GE Americom. Mallesch earlier held finance leadership roles at Asea Brown Boveri and PepsiCo and was an auditor for Arthur Anderson, where she earned her CPA. She is currently a member of the board of directors and chair of the Audit Committee of Bob Evans Farms Inc. A summa cum laude graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the City University of New York, Mallesch is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

David R. Meuse

Elected in 2006

As principal, Stonehenge Financial Holdings Inc., Meuse is responsible for initiating investment opportunities, structuring acquisitions, coordinating due diligence, negotiating transaction terms, working with portfolio company management teams, and managing the disposition of Stonehenge investments. Prior to joining Stonehenge, Mr. Meuse was the chairman and chief executive officer of Banc One Capital Holdings Corporation, the holding company for the investment banking, merchant banking, securities brokerage, investment advisory and insurance activities of Bank One Corporation. Prior to joining Bank One, he was chairman and chief executive officer of Meuse, Rinker, Chapman, Endres and Brooks, a regional investment banking firm which Meuse founded in 1981. Mr. Meuse began his securities career at Ball, Burge and Kraus, where he became a partner at the age of 26. He became a partner at Prescott, Ball and Turben as a result of the merger of Prescott and Ball Burge and Kraus. In 1974, Mr. Meuse joined McDonald and Company Securities, Inc., a member of the New York Stock Exchange, as a full partner. He later served as vice chairman of the board of directors of McDonald and Company. Meuse currently serves as Non Executive Chairman of the Board for Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc., Chairman of the Board for The Columbus Foundation and several other boards including Kenyon College (Investment Committee), State Auto Insurance Cos. (Investment Committee Chairman), ORIX Corporation, and The Columbus Partnership. He is past Chairman of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA). Meuse graduated from John Carroll University, the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School of Finance, Securities Industry Program.

Peter Migliorato

Elected in 2021

Migliorato is a senior Deloitte Consulting principal with over 35 years of experience advising major global insurers as they address their most critical strategic challenges and profitably grow their businesses. Throughout his career, he has worked with corporate leaders to shape and implement growth strategies, orchestrate turnarounds, improve profitability and capital productivity, lead successful enterprise-wide transformations, launch digital businesses and execute buy- and sell-side M&A transactions in the US and abroad. Migliorato is a lead client service partner for Deloitte’s largest, long-term insurance clients, focusing on innovation, data-driven analytics and the digital economy. He has advised insurance leaders on their innovation agendas, including the launch of a digital/direct commercial lines startup, formation of a captive FinTech VC portfolio company, the establishment of internal business/technology incubators and the end-to-end digitization of a top-five life insurer.

Setareh Pouraghabagher

Pouraghabagher is currently a member of the faculty at California Polytechnic State University's Orfalea College of Business. She previously served as chief administrative officer of QBE Insurance for North America, and as chief operations officer and chief financial officer with Balboa Insurance under Bank of America and Countrywide ownership. Pouraghabagher has also served as vice president, finance and administration with Xavor Corporation, and chief financial officer of Wellspring Solutions. Pouraghabagher started her career at Deloitte as a public accountant, and has held her Certified Public Accountant license since 1997.

S. Elaine Roberts

Elected in 2002

Roberts is a retired executive director of the Columbus Airport Authority. Roberts served as executive director of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation in Warwick, R.I., immediately prior to coming to Columbus, and as deputy executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority in Indianapolis, Ind., prior to that. She earned a master's degree from the University of Louisville in 1974, followed by a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University in 1981. Roberts is a member of the American Association of Airport Executives. Roberts is a member of the Columbus Partnership.

Marsha P. Ryan

Ryan is a multi-faceted executive with expertise in the fields of energy and insurance. As CEO of the Ohio’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, she developed policy and led operational reform efforts at Ohio’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. In various executive roles at American Electric Power (AEP), she held positions in government affairs, marketing, customer care, and field operations, including two years as President and Chief Operating Officer of Indiana Michigan Power. Prior to joining AEP in 1990, she served more than 18 years in the public sector, focusing on consumer protection, customer service, public policy and regulation at the Ohio Department of Commerce, the Ohio Office of the Attorney General, and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

Jim Sappington

Elected in 2020

Sappington’s more than 30-year career with McDonald’s Corporation began in accounting before transitioning to information technology, where he served as senior director of international IT. He held several subsequent roles, including U.S. vice president and chief information officer as well as corporate vice president of global technology. He most recently served as executive vice president of global operations, digital and technology, where he was a member of the senior leadership team that led a significant cultural and business transformation.

Dwight E. Smith

Smith has nearly 30 years of experience in the IT industry. He most recently served as CEO of Sophisticated Systems Incorporation, an IT consulting firm he founded in 1990. Smith earned his bachelor's degree and MBA from The Ohio State University, and participated in the Minority Business Executive Program (MBEP) and the Advanced MBEP Program at Dartmouth College. Smith's community involvement includes service as a Trustee for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority (appointed by Mayor Coleman), as a Board Member for Project Grad and Tech Columbus, and as a past member of the Governor's Small Business Advisory Council, Columbus Technology Leadership Council, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Columbus State Community College, and more. Sophisticated Systems has received the Governor's Minority Business Development Recognition Award, the U.S. SBA Entrepreneurial Success Award, the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Inc. Magazine Inner City Top 100, and the Columbus Fast Fifty Award.

Roger P. Sugarman

Sugarman is a trial lawyer experienced in federal and state court litigation, including securities matters, corporate and general commercial disputes, and issues involving director and officer liability. He has been with Kegler Brown since 1986. Sugarman has been actively involved in the Columbus community. He currently is President of the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Immediate Past Board Chair of the YMCA of Central Ohio and serves on the Executive Board of the Columbus Jewish Federation. His previous community activities include serving as Chair of the Boards of Trustees of Leadership Columbus, United Way of Central Ohio, The Community Shelter Board, and FIRSTLINK; President of the Athletic Club of Columbus; and, as a board member of the Columbus Bar Foundation, The Columbus Marathon, Temple Israel and Columbus School for Girls.