Paul E. Larson is the chair of the Audit Committee. He has been named by the Board of Directors as one of our "audit committee financial experts." He retired in 1999 as President of Equitable Life of Iowa and its subsidiary, USG Annuity and Life, after 22 years with the companies. Mr. Larson holds both a law degree and a certified public accountant designation. He was named Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry by the Iowa Society of CPA's in 1999, and inducted into the American Institute of CPA's Business and Industry Hall of Fame in 2000. He is a member of the board of directors of non-public companies Wellmark, Inc., GuideOne Mutual Insurance Companyand GuideOne Specialty Mutual Insurance Company. He was also a board member of EquiTrust Mutual Funds (which is managed by one of our subsidiaries), where he was chair of the Audit Committee and the committee's financial expert. He resigned from the EquiTrust Mutual Funds board upon election to our Board in 2004. |