BA Business Administration, 1973

President, SAFECO Property & Casualty Companies
Seattle, Washington

The new president of SAFECO Corporation's property and casualty companies, W. Randall Stoddard was honored with the 1997 Central Washington University alumni association's distinguished alumnus award for the School of Business and Economics.

Stoddard received his bachelor of arts degree in Business Administration from Central Washington State College in 1973. He added a certified insurance counselor designation in 1981.

Following his graduation from Central, Stoddard joined SAFECO as a commercial lines property examiner in Seattle. He served in several management positions in both commercial lines underwriting and marketing in Tacoma, Denver and Chicago before returning to Seattle in 1994, when he was named senior vice president of field operations.

Stoddard became chief operation officer of SAFECO's property and casualty companies in 1996. Then, on July 1, 1997, he assumed the position of president and is now responsible for all operations of those companies, which comprise SAFECO's largest subsidiary.

Stoddard and his wife, Wendy, live in Issaquah. They have two daughters.

"Considering his rather unpromising beginning as an underachieving freshman at CWSC, his achievements since are noteworthy, if not inspirational," Wendy noted on her nomination form.

Stoddard also now serves on the board of trustees for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and as a director of the Insurance Information Institute.