Progressive Insurance CEO headlines ISU Business Week

Feb. 19--NORMAL -- The president and CEO of Progressive Insurance will be the keynote speaker during Illinois State University's Business Week, which runs through Friday.

Tricia Griffith has been with the company since 1988, starting as a claims representative, and was named CEO in July 2016. She will speak on "Leadership Principles" at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Center for the Performing Arts on the Normal campus. Her talk is free and open to the public.

Griffith, who received a bachelor's degree at ISU in 1986, also is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business' Advanced Management Program. Fortune Magazine named her one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" in 2016.

She has held several leadership positions at Progressive, including group president of claims, personal lines chief operating officer and president of customer operations.

Her address is part of the ISU spring speaker series.

Other events during Business Week include a professional development and etiquette dinner, seminars on transitioning from college to the work world and a discussion on diversity that will include interactive breakout sessions and remarks by Anise Wiley-Little, chief human capital and diversity officer of Kellogg School of Management.

Six ISU graduates will be inducted into the College of Business Hall of Fame on Thursday.

This year's inductees are:

--Corey Ferengul, class of 1993, executive chairman and CEO of Magnetic, a digital advertising firm.

--Zack Fortsch, class of 1983, partner at RSM, fifth largest accounting, tax and consulting firm in the United States.

--Joe Reynolds, class of 2003, founder and co-CEO of Red Frog Events, an award-winning events production company.

--Kelly Smith, class of 1981, principal of Chicago-based Kensington Realty Advisors, a commercial real estate investment management company.

--Nancy Svoboda, class of 1986, executive vice president, human resources, for the Denver Broncos football team.

--Jeff Wilson, class of 1988, senior vice president, head of total rewards, Toronto-Dominion Bank Group.

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