New State Farm CEO makes commitment to Bloomington-Normal

Posted on October 25, 2016

Michael Tipsord (left) spoke with the EDC’s Kyle Ham (right). (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – State Farm has changed its leadership in the last year, but the company is not changing where its corporate headquarters is located.

Speaking at the annual Bloomington-Normal Economic Devleopment Council Community Leaders dinner Tuesday night, new State Farm CEO Michael Tipsord said the company has no plans to leave Bloomington.

“If you were in my chair, would you be looking to leave? I think everybody would step back, when you look at the facts and circumstances, you’d step back and say ‘no.’ This presence will exist.” he said.

Tipsord added State Farm is growing its presence at its hubs in Dallas, Phoenix and Atlanta.

“The decision that I made is we weren’t going to increase our concentration here (Bloomington),” said Tipsord. “Then we step back and we said how should we think about our physical presence? Where does it matter and what are the functions where it matters?”

However, at 15,000 workers, Tipsord said Bloomington remains the largest hub for the company.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].

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