Country Financial

Andrea Thorpe was named executive vice president and chief experience officer for COUNTRY Financial in September 2019.

She had served as vice president of Commercial/Agribusiness Underwriting since January 2017.  Prior to that, she was first the director, then vice president, of Customer Service.  In 2009, she was selected to help develop Operational Excellence at COUNTRY.  Thorpe has also served as manager of Precision Marketing and manager of Marketing Projects.  She began her career with COUNTRY in 2001 as manager of Customer Relationship Management.  

Thorpe earned her bachelor's degree in public relations from Illinois State University, Normal.  She graduated from the COUNTRY Leadership Development Program II and earned her Six Sigma Black Belt certification with COUNTRY in 2011.  She completed the Leadership Illinois program in 2013.

Thorpe is active in the community.  She serves as a mentor for the Multi-Cultural Leadership Program and sponsor for A Better Tomorrow.  She also supports, and has a vested interest in, many local youth sports programs.

Andy Bender has served as senior vice president and Deputy General Counsel for COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) and other affiliated companies since June 2019.

Bender is responsible for counseling, advising and handling a variety of corporate and related legal matters. In addition, he has legal, administrative and supervisory responsibilities within the Office of the General Counsel. He is responsible for overseeing the legal support for COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Agricultural Association, county Farm Bureaus, Prairie Farmers Dairy and other affiliated companies. He also provides support for the corporate secretary.

Bender joined IFB as an attorney in 2004. He was promoted to general attorney in 2006, assistant general counsel in 2011, senior counsel in 2016, and deputy general counsel in 2018.

He received his Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Illinois College of Law, Urbana, in 2001. He earned a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in political science and economics from Illinois State University, Normal, in 1998. 

Bender resides in Normal with his wife, Penny, and three children. 

Brad Hildestad has served as senior vice president of Technology and chief information officer since June 2019. He is responsible for providing overall strategic direction for the organization’s technology and information functions. This includes incorporating emerging technologies that support corporate strategies with an emphasis on mobility, security, and improved client experience.

Hildestad joined COUNTRY Financial® in May 2015 as vice president of Infrastructure Engineering and IT Operations & Support. He was named interim CIO in November 2015 and CIO in January 2016.

Prior in his career, Hildestad worked in Information Technology at Allstate Insurance Company for 30 years. His most recent position there was as director of Infrastructure Services, Client, Middleware and Security platforms.

Hildestad earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Mich., and a master’s degree in business administration from DePaul University, Chicago. He’s a graduate of the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management’s Finance for Executives Program, and Penn State’s Executive Program, The Enterprise Technology Strategist – Aligning IT and Business Strategies. He also holds a Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management from IT Infrastructure Library.

Chad Allen has served as senior vice president and chief risk officer for COUNTRY Financial since June 2019.  He is responsible for compliance, enterprise risk management and procurement.

Allen began his career with Illinois Farm Bureau as an attorney for the Office of General Counsel in 2003, where he was appointed general attorney in 2006.  He served as the manager of Financial Security Field Support for COUNTRY from 2007-2008, director of Agency Administration and Sales Practice Compliance from 2008-2012, vice president of Financial and Brokerage Solutions from 2012-2016, and vice president of Investment Services from 2016-2019.

Allen received his Juris Doctorate degree cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, Urbana, in 2001.

He has earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Life Underwriter designations. 

Jennifer L. Vance of Bloomington, Illinois, has served as the executive vice president, secretary and general counsel for COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Farm Bureau and other affiliated companies since June 2019.  In this role, she oversees the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), advises the board of directors and executive management, and oversees all related legal matters for the organization.  

Vance joined the OGC as an attorney in 2005. She has since served as a general attorney and assistant general counsel, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary, and general counsel, secretary and chief legal officer.

Prior in her career, Vance worked as an associate litigation attorney for Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago from 2001-2005.

She earned a juris doctor and bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  She is a member of the state bar of Illinois.

Vance and her husband, Curt, reside in Bloomington and have two children.

Jim Jacobs of Bloomington, Ill., is the Chief Executive Officer of COUNTRY Financial®.  Jacobs has served as General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer for COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Farm Bureau® (IFB), and other affiliated companies since February 2008.  Previously, he served as Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary in IFB's Office of General Counsel.

Prior to joining IFB in 2005, Jacobs was a litigation attorney in Louisiana for 14 years and a partner in the New Orleans law firm of Murphy, Rogers, Sloss and Gambel.

Jacobs holds a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Evansville in Indiana.  He is a member of the state bars of Louisiana and North Carolina.

Jacobs currently serves his community as a board member for Special Olympics of Illinois.  He also has served as a tutor for STAR Literacy and as a past member of the board of directors for Heartland Head Start.

Jacobs and his wife, Judi, have three children.

Miles Kilcoin of Bloomington, Illinois, is the executive vice president and chief financial officer for COUNTRY Financial. He provides overall strategic direction for Investments, Internal Auditing, Corporate Actuary and Controllers.

Kilcoin began his career with the organization in 1984 as an internal auditor. He has held senior leadership positions in Accounting, Agency, Compliance and Finance. He serves on the board of directors of Cotton States Life Insurance Company and the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund Board.

He earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in accounting and finance from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Kilcoin has also earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Chartered Life Underwriter and Fellow, Life Management Institute designations. He is also a Registered Principal of COUNTRY Capital Management Company.

He serves as a member of the accounting sub-committee for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the American Council of Life Insurers.

Rachael Sklamberg of Bloomington, Illinois, has served as executive vice president and chief human resources officer since June 2019. In this role, she oversees corporate communications, flight operations, property/administrative services, and human resources programs and policies for COUNTRY Financial and the Illinois Farm Bureau.

She joined the organization in July 2014 as vice president of Human Resources and was promoted to senior vice president of Human Resources in March 2017. Prior to joining the organization, Sklamberg served as senior vice president of HR Strategy Program and chief operating officer for HR at Northern Trust Corporation, an international financial services company headquartered in Chicago. She started at Northern Trust in 2005 and held various HR leadership roles, including overseeing global compensation and benefits programs; leading HR functions in their international offices including Dublin, London and Singapore; and managing the overall HR function for their Asia and Australia practices.

Before her tenure with Northern Trust, Sklamberg served as HR director for the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Earlier in her career, she worked at Hewitt Associates as a compensation consultant and a pension plan specialist.

Sklamberg earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She also earned a master’s degree in human resources and a master’s in business administration, both from Loyola University in Chicago. She holds the Certified Compensation Professional designation, is a certified executive coach and has an executive scholar certificate from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.

She has served on the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (formerly PCI) Human Resources Planning committee since 2014. She has served on the board of directors and Human Resource committee for Marcfirst since 2016.

Steve Denault of Bloomington, Illinois, has served as executive vice president and chief operating officer since June 2019.  He oversees the Property/Casualty, Financial Services and Technology divisions. 

Denault joined Illinois Farm Bureau in 1991 and moved to COUNTRY Financial in 1992 as a health business analyst. He moved to Human Resources in 1995 where he held various positions. In 2006, he became vice president of Human Resources. He was named senior vice president of Human Resources and Communications in 2010, executive vice president of Corporate Services in 2012, executive vice president of Enterprise Business Services in 2014 and executive vice president of Enterprise Customer Operations in 2017.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Illinois State University, Normal, in 1987. He then earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1991. Denault furthered his insurance education and earned the Chartered Life Underwriter and Certified Compensation Professional designations. He holds a certification in Strategic Human Resource Management from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. 

Denault is a former chairman of the Advocate BroMenn Medical Center Governing Council and former chairman of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He is a commissioner on the Central Illinois Regional Airport Authority Board, vice president of the BN Advantage leadership council and a member of the Illinois State University Foundation Board. Denault chaired the 2016 American Red Cross of the Heartland Evening of Stars. He is a private pilot and a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association. 

Kelvin Schill of Bloomington, Ill., has served as Senior Vice President, Financial Services since October 2014. In his position, Schill is responsible for the profitable growth of life insurance and investment products by developing innovative products, processes and strategies to meet customers’ financial security needs. Prior to this role, Schill served as the chief actuary of COUNTRY Life Insurance Company and COUNTRY Investors Life Assurance Company.

Schill joined COUNTRY in May 2012 as Vice President, Financial Products. He previously worked with General Electric’s direct insurance business, where he held various positions, including valuation actuary, quality leader, risk leader, P&L leader, and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining General Electric, Schill was a valuation actuary at Bankers Life and Casualty and a consulting actuary with Ernst & Young LLP.

Schill earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and biblical studies from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, and a master’s degree in divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Schill pursued his actuarial designation under the Society of Actuaries, and is a Fellow, Society of Actuaries since 2000 and a Member, American Academy of Actuaries since 1996.

He and his wife, Polly, have five children.