EXECUTIVE TEAM

Larry joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 1989 and currently serves as Chairman, CEO, and President. Larry also serves as the President of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America Foundation, is a member of the Greater Des Moines Committee, a United Way Campaign volunteer, and serves on the board of the Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation. Larry served as Chairman of the Board of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America from 2018 to 2020 and continues to serve as a board member of the SFAA. He is a past board member of the Master Builders of Iowa Associate Council, past President of the Board of Directors of Youth Homes of Mid-America, and past Chairman of the National Association of Independent Sureties. He is a graduate of Purdue University.

Elisabeth joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2023, after serving as Chief Financial Officer for three operating units of W.R. Berkley Corporation. Elisabeth was Chief Financial Officer at GuideOne Insurance until 2021, after more than a decade in various strategy, innovation and finance roles at Thrivent Financial in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Elisabeth began her career at Ernst & Young, working in both Des Moines and Minneapolis. Elisabeth serves on the Board of Trustees of EveryStep and as President of the Luther College Alumni Council. She earned her B.A. at Luther College in Accounting, Economics and Spanish and obtained a Master of Business Administration degree in Strategy and Finance from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Elisabeth is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). She is a member of the ISCPA and AICPA, and is active in the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), Surety and Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) and Women in Surety (WIS).

David joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2021 coming from Marsh, the largest surety broker in North America. As managing director of US surety since 2016, he led 30 offices to significant growth with continuous development of client engagement, talent development and strategic planning for surety operations. Prior to Marsh, David was the president of global surety operations at XL insurance and was executive vice president of Zurich North America Insurance. He is a graduate of Indiana University and received his Masters in 1996 from John Hopkins University.

Jason joined Merchants Bonding Company™’s Contract Underwriting department in 1998. He currently serves as Vice President of Contract Underwriting and was appointed a member of the Executive Committee in 2021. Jason has held several positions in our contract underwriting department serving agent partners across various territories. He is a member of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers and is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa.

Jim joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2004 to lead the Commercial Surety department as Assistant Vice President. In 2014, he was promoted to Vice President, Commercial Surety. Jim sits on the Surety & Fidelity Association of America's Commercial Committee, is active in the National Association of Independent Sureties (NAIS) and has been an instructor at the NAIS Surety School. Prior to Merchants, Jim was with Western Surety and CNA Surety. He attended the University of South Dakota.

Steve began his career with Merchants Bonding Company™ in 1995 as a Contract Underwriter, holding the titles of Senior Contract Underwriter and Assistant Vice President. Joining the Claims department in 2012, Steve became Vice President, Claims Manager and was appointed to the Executive Committee. In 2021, he took on a new role as Vice President leading our new production and underwriting division to launch in fall 2021. He is a Board Member of the National Bond Claims Association and is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Melíssa Harden joined Merchants Bonding Company™ as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in 2025, bringing more than 15 years of experience driving market growth and customer-focused transformation. Prior to joining Merchants, Melíssa served as Vice President and Group Director of Search Intelligence at Digitas, where she led multi-disciplinary teams and partnered with Fortune 5 clients to develop forward-looking strategies in an evolving AI-driven search and commerce landscape. She previously held senior leadership roles at intentX and Meredith Corporation, where she built and led SEO-driven editorial and commerce teams. Earlier in her career, Melíssa founded and scaled FoxChase Digital and served as Digital Marketing Director at Blue Compass.

Melíssa earned her Bachelor of Arts in English, with a focus on English and Latino Studies, from Iowa State University. She is a recognized thought leader and frequent speaker on digital strategy, search intelligence, and practical AI transformation.

Brad joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2014. Prior to joining Merchants, Brad held the role of Senior Director of Sales & Marketing Technology Delivery at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Iowa and CIO at GeoLearning, Inc. Brad has held numerous technology and business leadership positions in start-ups to large organizations. He is also an active member in the Technology Association of Iowa. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa.

Jay joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2015 as Assistant Vice President, Assistant Claims Manager. In 2021, Jay was appointed Vice President, Claims Manager and a member of the Executive Committee. Jay serves on the Surety Claims Advisory Committee of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America and is actively involved in several other Surety Claims leadership groups. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas and attended Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas to earn his Doctor of Law.

Stacey joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2018 and in a short time has had a positive impact on Merchants strategic associate growth initiatives. Stacey serves on the Diversity & Human Resources Committee of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America and is actively involved in several other Human Resources leadership groups. She graduated from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois with her B.S. in Human Resource Management and later went to Iowa State University to get her M.S. in Organizational Development.