W. KIM AUSTEN

W. Kim Austen retired in April 2015 as president and chief operating officer at Nationwide. He led the former Allied Group, which included responsibility for Nationwide’s Allied Insurance, Scottsdale Insurance, Harleysville Insurance, Nationwide Agribusiness, and Titan Insurance business units.

Austen began his association with Allied in 1976 as a claims representative. He held various management positions in underwriting and was named regional vice president of the Rocky Mountain Regional Office in 1990, the Lincoln Regional Office in 1992, and then the Des Moines Regional Office in 1994.

In 2001, Austen was promoted to senior vice president – product development and in 2003, he was named senior vice president – Nationwide Commercial/Agribusiness Product & Pricing. In 2006, he was appointed president of Allied Insurance and he was named to the role as president and COO of Allied Group in March 2009.

Austen has served on the board of directors of the United Way of Central Iowa, the American Red Cross of Greater Iowa, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), and as an advisory board member of the Emmett J. Vaughan Institute of Risk Management and Insurance affiliated with the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business. He currently serves on the national advisory council for the School of Actuarial Science at Drake University, the Grand View University board of trustees, and is a board member for the Science Center of Iowa.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska, he received a B.S. degree in mathematics and economics, and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation. Kim and his wife Jean reside in Ankeny, Iowa, and enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren.