EXECUTIVE TEAM

Larry joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 1989 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board and President. He also serves as President of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America Foundation and is a member of the Greater Des Moines Committee, a United Way campaign volunteer, and a board member 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 member of the SFAA board. 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. She previously served as Chief Financial Officer at GuideOne Insurance until 2021, following 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.

She serves on the Board of Trustees of EveryStep and as President of the Luther College Alumni Council. Elisabeth earned her B.A. from Luther College in Accounting, Economics, and Spanish and her Master of Business Administration 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), the Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA), and Women in Surety (WIS).

David joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2021 from Marsh, the largest surety broker in North America. As Managing Director of U.S. Surety since 2016, he led 30 offices to significant growth through continuous development of client engagement, talent development, and strategic planning for surety operations.

Prior to Marsh, David was President of Global Surety Operations at XL Insurance and Executive Vice President of Zurich North America Insurance. He is a graduate of Indiana University and received his master’s degree in 1996 from Johns Hopkins University.

Jason joined Merchants Bonding Company™’s Contract Underwriting Department in 1998. He currently serves as Senior Vice President, National Contract Surety Leader, and was appointed to the Executive Committee in 2021. Jason has held several positions within the 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 serves 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 joining Merchants, Jim was with Western Surety and CNA Surety.

He has worked on various surety legislative issues both nationally and at the state level, including representing the surety industry on the Iowa Supreme Court’s Guardianship and Conservatorship Reform Task Force from 2015 to 2017. He attended the University of South Dakota.

Steve began his career with Merchants Bonding Company™ in 1995 as a Contract Underwriter, later holding the titles of Senior Contract Underwriter and Assistant Vice President. He joined the Claims Department in 2012, became Vice President and Claims Manager, and was appointed to the Executive Committee.

In 2021, Steve assumed a new role as Vice President leading a new production and underwriting division launched in fall 2021. He is a member of the SFAA Government Affairs Committee and Claims Advisory Committee. Steve 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 multidisciplinary 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 in 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, he served as Senior Director of Sales & Marketing Technology Delivery at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Iowa and as CIO at GeoLearning, Inc. Brad has held numerous technology and business leadership positions in organizations ranging from start-ups to large enterprises.

He is an active member and former board chair of the Technology Association of Iowa. He also serves as Technology Executive in Residence for TAI, providing leadership and education to Iowa’s technology industry. Brad is active in the community through his board service with Goodwill of Central Iowa. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa.

Jay joined Merchants Bonding Company™ as Assistant Vice President, Claims, in 2015 and was promoted to Vice President, Claims, in 2021. In this role, he leads the Claims Department and serves on Merchants’ Executive Committee.

Prior to joining Merchants, Jay practiced law at a Des Moines-based firm in the construction and surety group, representing clients in a wide range of construction and surety matters.

Jay serves on the Board of Directors of the National Bond Claims Association (NBCA) and is an active member of the Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) Surety Claims Advisory Committee and the American Bar Association (ABA) Fidelity & Surety Law Committee. He earned his Juris Doctor from Washburn University School of Law in 2008 and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas in 2004.

Stacey joined Merchants Bonding Company™ in 2018 and quickly made a positive impact on Merchants’ strategic associate growth initiatives. She 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.

Stacey graduated from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, with a B.S. in Human Resource Management and later earned her M.S. in Organizational Development from Iowa State University.