Elected 2006

Joseph E. (Jeff) Consolino, who serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer of American Financial Group, Inc. (“AFG”), the parent of our largest shareholder, became our Chairman of the Board effective February 15, 2013.  Prior to joining AFG, Mr. Consolino served as president and chief financial officer of Validus Holdings, Ltd. (“Validus”), a Bermuda-based property and casualty reinsurance company.  Before joining Validus in 2006, Mr. Consolino was a managing director in Merrill Lynch's Financial Institutions Group specializing in insurance company advisory and financing transactions. Mr. Consolino worked on a broad range of investment banking assignments for insurance company clients, and led the underwriting of our initial public offering.  Mr. Consolino also serves on the boards of directors of AFG, Validus, and AmWINS Group, Inc., a wholesale insurance brokerage.  Mr. Consolino is a member of the Compensation Committee.

Mr. Gruber serves as executive vice president of Great American Property & Casualty Group and Great American Insurance Company, our largest shareholder. Prior to becoming executive vice president, Mr. Gruber served as senior vice president of Great American Insurance Company. Mr. Gruber joined Great American in 1977 and has held a variety of financial, management and officer positions since 1983. Mr. Gruber has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Great American Insurance Company since 1993. Mr. Gruber is the Chair of our Nominating/Governance Committee.

Elected 2000

Mr. Jensen has served as senior vice president of American Financial Group, Inc. since 1999 and was named its chief financial officer in January 2005. Mr. Jensen joined the Great American Property and Casualty Insurance Group in 1999 as senior vice president and chief financial officer and was promoted to executive vice president in 2004. Mr. Jensen has served on the Board of Directors of Great American Insurance Company, our largest shareholder, since 1999. From February 2003 to December 2003, Mr. Jensen served on the Board of Directors of Infinity Property & Casualty Corporation. Before working with American Financial Group, Inc., Mr. Jensen was a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mr. Jensen is a member of the Compensation Committee.

Mr. Larson is president and chief operating officer of Great American Property & Casualty Group and Great American Insurance Company, our largest shareholder. Prior to being named president and chief operating officer, Mr. Larson served as executive vice president and president, specialty group, for the Great American Property and Casualty Group since 1999. Mr. Larson began his career with American Financial Group, Inc. in 1973 and joined Great American Insurance Company in 1981. Mr. Larson has served on the Board of Directors of Great American Insurance Company since 1988 and served as our Chairman from 1993 until 2004. Mr. Larson is the Chair of our Compensation Committee and a member of our Nominating/Governance Committee.

Elected 2009

David W. Michelson became our President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2008. Prior to being named Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michelson served as our President and Chief Operating Officer during 2007. He has held several other positions during his initial employment with the Company from 1992-1998 and since rejoining National Interstate in 1999. Mr. Michelson has also held various positions in the insurance industry at Reliance Insurance Company, Liberty National Fire, and Progressive Corporation. Mr. Michelson holds a B.S. from Miami University and a M.B.A. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Mr. Peraino has been general counsel and senior vice president of American Financial Group, Inc. since 2012.  Prior to that time, Mr. Peraino served as senior vice president of Great American Insurance Company, our largest shareholder, since 2002 and assistant general counsel of Great American since 2004. Since joining Great American in 1999, Mr. Peraino has also held various executive Claims management positions. Mr. Peraino spent several years in private practice prior to joining Great American. Mr. Peraino is a member of the Nominating/Governance Committee.

Elected 1989

Since 1999, Mr. Schiavone has been the managing partner of several privately-held New Haven based real estate companies. Prior to that, Mr. Schiavone was the owner and chief executive officer of Schiavone Corporation, a holding company for a variety of investments. Mr. Schiavone is a member of the Audit, Compensation, Nominating/Governance, and Steering Committees.

Donald W. Schwegman, a retired partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”), was the lead client service partner for various complex insurance organizations for over 20 years.  Most recently, Mr. Schwegman served as the Insurance Industry Profession Practice Director for Deloitte with responsibility for formulating the U.S. firm’s position on insurance accounting and auditing issues, developing internal insurance training programs, and overseeing risk management.  Mr. Schwegman was admitted as a partner with Deloitte in 1984, has significant experience with insurance industry accounting policies and procedures, and has a substantial background with SEC registrants’ filings.  Mr. Schwegman is a member of the AICPA and is a licensed CPA in multiple states.  Mr. Schwegman is the Chair of our Audit Committee.

Elected 1989

Alan R. Spachman is our founder, and served as Chairman from 2004 through February 15, 2013. Mr. Spachman served as our chief executive from our inception in 1989 through 2007. From 1984-1988, Mr. Spachman was a senior vice president at Progressive Corporation, where he initiated its passenger transportation insurance business. In addition to his insurance experience, Mr. Spachman previously held various labor relations and human resource management positions with Collins and Aikman, Inc. and Frito-Lay, Inc. Mr. Spachman is the Chair of the Steering Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee.

Elected 2013

Michael A. Spachman serves as executive director of Bedrock Capital Associates, LLC.  Prior to being named executive director, Mr. Spachman served in various roles in the commercial real estate mortgage banking and financial services industries since 2004, including serving as senior vice president at Capmark Bank, vice president of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, and vice president and team leader at Capmark Financial Services.  Mr. Spachman is a member of the Audit Committee.