April 2, 2024
Sarah Hunter promoted to VP of Operations
Sarah Hunter recently took over as SFM’s VP of Operations.
A former attorney with more than a decade of experience in workers’ compensation, Hunter will work with SFM’s current Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Dave Kaiser, until his retirement at the end of 2024.
In her new position, Hunter will help drive SFM’s big-picture strategy and develop plans for the company’s future. She previously served as VP of Claims at SFM.
In 2018, Hunter came to LSH, the in-house legal firm at SFM. She was looking for a new challenge and wanted to learn more about the business side of work comp.
“I kind of always had SFM in my sights. They’re known as the best carrier in the state,” Hunter said. “I told myself if something opens up there, I’m going to go for it.”
Once she got experience in other aspects of the company, she looked for leadership opportunities outside of the legal side of SFM.
“In learning more about the business side of things, I thought, this is pretty interesting. When the VP of Claims position opened up, I realized it would be a good way to change up my career,” Hunter said. “I could still use my workers’ compensation experience and legal knowledge and training. And there’s a lot of strategy that goes into handling claims. I was able to use those skills that I’d developed as an attorney and it all worked out.”
Hunter said she enjoyed her time as VP of Claims but wanted to expand on her role at SFM and take on more responsibilities for the direction of the company.
“SFM is great that they’re willing to take chances on people. They have faith in them,” she said. “If you’re doing good work, they give you that chance and give you the support to be successful.”
In her time at SFM, Hunter said she has been impressed with how closely the company adheres to its values.
“They show us that they care and appreciate the work that we’re doing,” she said. “That’s everything from wellness programs and special events to compensation and how they treat employees. They know that our strength comes from the people with their boots on the ground.”
Her promotion went into effect in early April 2024.
Hunter grew up in St. Paul, Minn., and attended St. Scholastica in Duluth before earning a degree from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. She lives in Champlin, Minn., with her husband and two daughters.
