Executive Team

Frederick H. Eppinger serves as the chief executive officer of Stewart Information Services Corporation. As CEO, Eppinger is focused on creating opportunities that inspire growth and build off our financial strength. He combines a drive to win with a deep respect for Stewart’s rich history.

Eppinger is an accomplished insurance industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience. He has served as a Stewart director since 2016 and is currently a director at Centene Corp and QBE Insurance Group Limited. Before joining Stewart, he served as president and CEO of The Hanover Insurance Group from 2003 until his retirement in 2016. Under his leadership Hanover transformed into a property/casualty carrier with global reach, more than doubling the company’s employees and revenues. The company was recognized as a “Best Place to Work” by Forbes, Business Insurance and The Boston Globe. Forbes also named Hanover one of “The 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Firms in the U.S.”

From 2001 to 2003, Eppinger was executive vice president of Property and Casualty Field and Service Operations for The Hartford Financial Service Group. From 2000 to 2001, he was executive vice president of industry services, marketing and service operations for ChannelPoint, Inc., a business-to-business technology firm for insurance companies. Eppinger was a senior director and partner at the consulting firm of McKinsey & Co. from 1985 to 2000, where he was a leader in the insurance, financial services and health practices, and worked closely with insurance CEOs.

He began his career as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. He is a graduate of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the College of the Holy Cross.

Elizabeth Giddens serves as chief legal officer and corporate secretary of Stewart Information Services Corporation. She leads Stewart’s legal organization, overseeing underwriting, litigation, and compliance areas of all Stewart entities.

Giddens is an accomplished legal executive with 25 years of legal experience, including five years at a top international law firm and 16 years at several public companies. She has a diverse background including several years in the mortgage industry and she brings a deep experience in securities law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and compliance to Stewart.

Prior to joining Stewart, Giddens served as SVP, general counsel, chief ethics & compliance officer and corporate secretary at Integer Holdings Corporation, where she led its legal department, and before that served as SVP, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary at Mr. Cooper Group Inc. (formerly Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc.).

She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tulsa, and a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity University. She is admitted to the State Bars of Texas and Oklahoma.

David Hisey serves as chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer of Stewart Information Services Corporation. He leads Stewart’s financial organization and strategy, overseeing financial planning and analysis, accounting, treasury and audit functions, as well as investor relations and property management. As CFO, Hisey partners with each area of the business to help with their financial and commercial success, focusing on top-line growth and bottom-line margin enhancement.

Hisey brings to Stewart more than 30 years of financial leadership experience, most recently as senior advisor to the CEO and acting CFO for Prospect Mortgage, LLC. Prior to this position, his roles included executive vice president (EVP) and CFO, as well as chief strategy and external affairs officer and chief of staff for Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, Inc. In addition, Hisey served as EVP and CFO for Fannie Mae and spent 22 years in audit and consulting roles with KPMG LLP/Bearing Point, Inc.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from James Madison University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Brad Rable is executive team member responsible for creating Stewart’s digital business strategy, innovation approach, and global information technology. Lead Stewart’s investment and prototype work with blockchain and its potential disruptive use in home buying and title insurance. Responsible for title production operations and value chain digital transformation.

Acted as the Group Senior Vice President for residential operations in the West from October 2016 – June 2017, which included leading a $550M revenue stream, delivering an enterprise approach, and aligning to a “OneStewart” strategy. Achieved profitability, for the first time in over a decade, in Q1 2017.

Delivered the first completely digital residential home closing experience in 2017; now expanded to all states with enabling laws supporting electronic closings. Implemented data analytics and a no-touch solution, enabling our customers and leading to $10M+ annual savings with improved turn times and product quality. Implemented a Security Operations Center that provides data pattern analytics, allowing for real-time analysis and potential cyber threat avoidance.

Emily A. Kain serves as Stewart's Chief Human Resources Officer (“CHRO”). She is responsible for the people side of the business, focusing on the development and execution of the broader human resource and talent strategies, and also leads the corporate communications and community relations functions. 

Ms. Kain serves as an essential member of both Stewart’s DE&I Council and ESG Committee. She joined Stewart in 2014 as the manager of employee onboarding and re-engineered the hiring and onboarding processes, employee experience and employee referral program, and developed and launched the Stewart Celebrates global recognition program. Upon appointment to the CHRO role, she led the organization in the areas of talent management, organizational design and succession planning, performance management, inclusion and diversity, total rewards, and all aspects of HR operations transformation. 

Prior to joining Stewart, Ms. Kain worked in public accounting and held multiple human resources positions in both the professional services and oil and gas industries. She draws on experience from both domestic and international roles of increasing scope and responsibility and has applied her extensive experience to advancing Stewart’s HR function and strategy in support of the overall business plan and strategic direction of the organization. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Louisiana State University and a Master’s degree in accounting, with a concentration in internal audit, from the University of New Orleans. She also completed the Executive Education, Emerging Leaders Program at Rice University in 2011.

Tara Smith serves as group president, responsible for Stewart’s agency operations. In this role, she oversees Stewart’s independent title agency network of Trusted Providers™ and all products and services offered to our agency network.

Tara has been with Stewart since 2013 as a senior member of the Agency Services leadership team. She has used her ability to translate knowledge of the title industry into countless contributions for Agency Services. This includes her development of training and resources, the result of which has allowed her to serve agents as a reliable source when it comes to navigating the changing waters of the title industry. And using her business development and relationship-building expertise, she helps independent agents deliver a better experience to their customers.

Tara’s well-rounded success in the areas of strategy implementation and problem solving led to leadership roles that included the positions of vice president, agency financial director and executive vice president. In these roles she was responsible for overseeing the National Agent Support Team, Stewart Financial Services and Stewart’s Funding and Escrow Services department. Tara was named one of Housing Wire’s 2017 “Women of Influence” for her contributions to the industry.

Prior to joining Stewart, Tara spent 12 years in public accounting working with clients in the financial services and oil and gas industries. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Steve Lessack serves as group president, international operations and commercial services. In this role, he is responsible for all of Stewart’s U.S. direct operations, foreign title operations and commercial services division. He is also responsible for Stewart’s international offices in Australia, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe and Latin America.