State Farm Insurance Cos. says Chief Operating Officer Michael Tipsord will become the private company's next CEO in September and its first new leader since the mid-1980s.
In a statement Thursday, the Bloomington-based company said Tipsord will take over for CEO Ed Rust Jr. Rust has been CEO since 1985. The 64-year-old Rust will remain chairman of the company's board.
According to The Pantagraph in Bloomington, Rust said Tipsord has a deep understanding of the insurance marketplace developed over a 27-year career with State Farm. Rust credited Tipsord for working with him as a partner leading the company.
Tipsord called the time he's spent working with Rust ``a privilege.''
State Farm is one of the country's largest insurance companies and Bloomington's biggest employer with about 15,000 employees.
