Donald Larson Named President/COO of Great American Insurance P&C Group

Great American Insurance Group recently announced the promotions of several executives in its property and casualty operations. Donald D. Larson, CPA, CPCU has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of the Great American Property and Casualty Group and Great American Insurance
Company.

Published on June 16, 2010

Mr. Larson is the 16th President in Great American’s history, assuming this title from Carl H. Lindner III, who has held the position of President for the past 23 years. Mr. Lindner will continue to serve as Chairman and CEO of the Great American Property and Casualty Group and Great American Insurance Company. Mr. Larson will continue to report to Mr. Lindner.

Mr. Larson has served as Executive Vice President for the Great American Property and Casualty Insurance Group since 1999 and currently serves as a member of Great American's Board of Directors as well as the Board of Directors of National Interstate Corporation (NASDAQ: NATL), a 53%-owned subsidiary of Great American Insurance Company. He joined Great American’s parent company, American Financial Group (“AFG”), in 1973 as a member of AFG’s finance department. In 1981 he moved to Great American’s property and casualty group, where he held positions of increasing responsibility over the years. Mr. Larson is a graduate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and holds the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

Ronald J. Brichler, CPA, CPCU, ARe was promoted to Executive Vice President of the Great American Property and Casualty Group and the Great American Insurance Company. Mr. Brichler most recently served as Senior Vice President of Great American Insurance Company and currently serves as a member of Great American's Board of Directors. He started his career with AFG in 1976 in its finance department. In 1982, Mr. Brichler transferred to Great American Insurance Company where he held positions of increasing responsibility. In 1984, he was named Chief Financial Officer for a national brokerage subsidiary of Great American. In 1988, he returned to Great American as an Assistant Vice President in its Specialty Operations area and was named Divisional President of Great American’s Crop Division in 1994. Mr. Brichler is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). He also holds the CPCU and Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) designations. Mr. Brichler is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Crop Insurers (AACI), and is the current Chairman of this organization’s Government Relations Committee. He is also a past chairman of the Board of Directors of National Crop Insurance Services. Mr. Brichler will continue to report to Don Larson.

Gary J. Gruber, CPA was promoted to Executive Vice President of the Great American Property and Casualty Group and the Great American Insurance Company. Mr. Gruber most recently served as Senior Vice President of Great American’s Property and Casualty Group and serves as a member of Great American’s Board of Directors as well as the Board of Directors of National Interstate Corporation. Mr. Gruber started his career with Great American in 1977 and held a number of accounting and finance positions, serving as Senior Vice President and Treasurer from 1990 to 1995, when he assumed a senior management role within the specialty operations. He is a graduate of
the University of Cincinnati, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Mr. Gruber is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled, Inc., and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Athenaeum of Ohio. Mr. Gruber will continue to report to Don Larson.

All three executives continue to be based in Cincinnati, Ohio.