Research Center

TODD HART
Strategic Resources Research Manager
Research Center Program Manager

Hometown:
Decatur, Illinois

Alma Mater:
Millikin University (Accounting)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (MBA)

Nicknames:
 I had several nicknames in high school (Toad, Toddles), but not so many today.

Most vivid college memory:
I have a ton of great memories from college. During my junior and senior years, I landed an accounting internship. So each day I was up and heading to an 8 a.m. class to keep the afternoons free to work. It was rough at times, but landed me my first position post-graduation. It’s a pretty cool feeling to have a job lined up halfway through your senior year.

Favorite class(es) in college:
Not sure why, but I really enjoyed a handful of Psych classes I took as electives. My accounting and other business classes would also fall into the category of faves.

Least favorite class(es) in college:
I failed miserably in Philosophy. (To clarify, I didn’t actually receive an ‘F’ – I just couldn’t stand the class!) I think it was way too nebulous. 

College activities/jobs:
Nothing terribly formal outside of my internship with “Big Brown”. A lot of time was spent hanging out with friends, playing Madden football, etc.

Advice I’d like to give to college students:
Work hard, make good decisions, and enjoy your time in school – the best is yet to come!

Hobbies:
I love hanging out with my family – taking the kids fishing, watching a movie with my wife, or just enjoying dinner together as a family. On an individual basis, I enjoy personal finance, reading, and working outside (see my comment below about my lawn).

Favorite Restaurant in C-U:
Biaggi’s for a more formal setting, Dos Reales for a casual atmosphere, and Noodle’s on Green Street for a quick dining experience.

Favorite Music:
Not sure I can pin it down to one genre – I pretty much enjoy everything outside of Country (which I’ll tolerate if I’m in the mood).

Favorite Movies:
A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally (I’m taking a risk publicly stating this) and The Shawshank Redemption, just to name a few…

Favorite TV Shows:
American Idol, Criminal Minds and The Apprentice.

Favorite Quote:
“Long range goals are simply dreams attached to deadlines.”

Hero/Role Model:
While I won’t name them by name, I’d consider a handful of mentors I’ve had at State Farm to be role models. I’m blessed to work with such talented individuals.

Career:
Prior to State Farm, I worked at UPS in various capacities, including Audit, Marketing, Sales, and IT.

I started my State Farm career as a financial business analyst in our Systems department (a.k.a. IT). I moved from Systems to Corporate Finance for a relatively short period of time. I then had the opportunity to supervise in a zone accounting operation and gained experience in several different line units.

From Finance, I moved to a manager position in field auto underwriting. Working in an operations capacity (versus a "general department") significantly shifted my perspective of the Company. Working with agents and their staff has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at State Farm.

It's noteworthy that State Farm is the type of company where you can literally have several different careers within a career. If you want to be challenged, possess a fair amount of learning agility, and are mildly comfortable with ambiguity (i.e., working outside of your area of expertise) – opportunities abound!

What I like most about my work at the Research Center:
It’s hard to describe the type of atmosphere here. I tell people that the physical environment is like “Pottery Barn meets Silicon Valley”!
Imagine 50+ undergraduate, graduate and a few Ph.D. interns, full of initiative and creativity working on myriad projects and Company initiatives – and you get a sense of what goes on here. (I have a sidebar research project focused on the most efficient way of bottling that energy.)

My future vision for the Research Center:
A few years from now, we’ll have a much better understanding of other “models” that can be used to conduct research and accomplish work in this environment. We’ve been exploring the idea of a “State Farm Fellowship,” where a U of I faculty member comes to work for us on a specific initiative. I also think providing grad students a chance to lead a group of undergraduate students on a research effort could be another valuable way of accomplishing work.

It sounds a little wide sweeping but the answers to today's business challenges are here in an academic setting. Whether it's how to address the "war on talent" or how to successfully incorporate "gaming and simulations" into a marketing and advertising plan, the answers are available - you just have to seek them out.

Outside of work, I think I’m really good at:
Maintaining an immaculate lawn. I’m silly about it. My neighbor and I are competing for the "best lawn in the neighborhood" award (he doesn't know it yet). Oh and by the way, I'm winning…