Covington Appointed Homesteaders Life Company Senior Vice President Enterprise Strategic Planning

West Des Moines, Iowa — Nick Gerhart, Chief Innovation Officer at Homesteaders Life Company, announced the promotion of Laurie Covington to Senior Vice President – Enterprise Strategic Planning.

Covington joined Homesteaders in 2012 as Director of Application Development and has led a wide range of organizational initiatives including a major shift to the Agile Methodology and more recently, the development of EnGauge CRM where she worked closely with distribution partners.

“Throughout our long history, Homesteaders has continued to grow and lead the insurance industry and funeral profession,” said Covington. “I’m thrilled and excited to help this great company continue on that journey, working with leadership to continually translate our vision and purpose into action.”   

Covington succeeds Kim Medici Shelquist. Shelquist is retiring from the role of Senior Vice President – Planning and Development after 13 years with the company.

Shelquist noted, “Laurie is an outstanding leader and has a strong understanding of Homesteaders, our strategy and the initiatives we are undertaking to achieve our goals. Her knowledge and skills made the transition seamless.”

“Laurie and Kim worked together in 2015 to develop Homesteaders’ original digital roadmap ahead of the eFuneral launch,” observed Gerhart. “Laurie’s work on that effort, her strong technology background and her leadership on significant efforts such as EnGauge CRM prepared her to succeed in this new role.” 

Covington earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Dordt University and her MBA from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. She lives outside Des Moines with her husband and four children. She is an avid rower and runner and recently completed her fifth half marathon.

Homesteaders Life Company, a mutual company owned by its policy holders, is a national leader providing products and services to help people design a better farewell. Visit homesteaderslife.com to learn more.