Nathan Gaffaney has been with SFM since 2001, holding a variety of roles during his tenure here. In 2024, he was promoted to Team Leader. We asked Gaffaney to share a little bit about his background and role.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

My first job out of college was at SFM. I started with a claims training program and worked as a claims adjuster for three and a half years. Then I transferred to premium audit and the finance department — at that time, those two departments were combined. I worked in those areas for several years.

Then transferred to our North team as an underwriter until January of 2024, when I was promoted to the team business leader position.

Why have you stayed at SFM as long as you have?

I’ve had great managers along the way — they’ve probably seen things in me that I don’t see in myself and encouraged me to try different things.

I was also part of SFM’s Aspire program, which looks to identify people as future leaders. That was almost 10 years ago. But I’ve enjoyed the ability to have different roles at SFM the flexibility to try different things and stay with a company that’s great to its employees.

How would you describe your role in a nutshell?

In my current role, I’m overseeing three different disciplines for the North team — medical-only claims, loss prevention and nurse case managers. And I continue to have an underwriting/marketing role where I’m out talking to different agencies.

Is there a time that stands out to you when your job was particularly rewarding?

I’ve always enjoyed the relationships that I’ve been able to build with my agents.

When I ended up in the underwriter role and the marketing piece of the job, I really developed lifelong friendships with some of the people I worked with as clients. That’s been one of the most rewarding pieces.

What do you like about your job?

The people. I know that’s cliché, but the coworkers and clients I work with, the leaders I’ve had, they’ve all been great people and were always looking out for me.

I also like the vision of the company and what we’re doing and trying to do it well. We’re always focused on doing the next right thing, like Terry (Miller, SFM President and CEO) says. That’s big for me.

What’s most challenging about your job?

For me, in my current role, I hadn’t managed people before — so it’s been a lot of learning the nuances of managing people and their different roles and how you can assist them and be an advocate for them even when you’re not an expert in that particular role. So that’s been the hardest piece of it for me.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m married with four kids — my son was married in October and my oldest daughter is getting married this year. I also enjoy golfing, downhill skiing and taking my golden retriever out for walks. And I’m an avid Minnesota sports fan.

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