Management Team

Karina Fina is Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of The Gray Insurance Company and its subsidiaries.  She also serves as Treasurer of Gray & Company, Inc. Since joining The Gray Insurance Company in 2003, Karina has held several leadership positions, from her initial role as a special projects manager through her transition to financial reporting. Originally from Cali, Colombia, she attended Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Universidad ICESI. Continuing her studies in the United States, she earned a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Accounting from Tulane University. Karina is a member of The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), a global non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management.

John G. “Jack” Simpson, Jr. is the Vice President of Underwriting for The Gray Insurance Company and Vice President of Gray & Company, Inc., its parent company.  Starting his insurance career at The Gray Insurance Company in 1994, Jack briefly worked in the survey/audit department before transitioning into the underwriting department where he has remained since 1994. A graduate of Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Jack continued his education at the University of New Orleans where he earned a Master of Business Administration. The parents of two grown children, Jack and his wife, Gloria, live in Kenner.

Dean Hardey is the Vice President of Underwriting Operations for The Gray Insurance Company. He also serves as a member of the Risk Committee for Gray & Company, Inc.  Upon joining the Company in 2007, he entered the management training program and ultimately took a position in the Underwriting department. After almost 10 years in Underwriting, and after working his way to a Senior Underwriter position, he was redeployed into a Business Development role. This came immediately after leading the Company’s first Lean process improvement initiative.  Prior to joining Gray, he obtained both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana State University with a concentration in Finance, Economics and Entrepreneurship.  Dean is a licensed Louisiana Property and Casualty producer and is currently working toward a CPCU designation. When away from the office, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Kim, and their three children, Olivia, Hudson and Elise. As a life-long Covington resident he also enjoys spending time out on the river.

Larry Miller is the Vice President of Claims for The Gray Insurance Company.  Prior to joining Gray, Larry served as the Vice President of Claims & Operations for the Public Risk Group with Tokio Marine HCC and was the Director of Claims Operations with Frankenmuth Insurance. He spent the majority of his insurance career overseeing Litigation Management and working with defense counsel to achieve the best results for policyholders.  Larry is a member of the CLM. He has been a past presenter at the PLRB National Conference and previously served on the Claims committee for the Michigan Property Casualty Guaranty Association. Larry graduated from Central Michigan University with a finance major and also has an accounting background, completing the CPA exam. He achieved his CPCU designation in 2001.  Larry currently resides in Mandeville.  He is married to Sherry and they have three children.

Jennifer Phillips, CIC is the Vice President of Business Development for Gray & Company, Inc.  Since arriving at Gray in 2005, she has held positions in the executive offices and within the Management department. Before joining the Gray team, Jennifer was the Special Projects Director at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and also administered a tutoring and mentoring program for the state of Mississippi as part of a federal education grant.  She has spent time in the construction industry as well, working for Shaw Constructors in Arizona. After first attending Texas A&M University, Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans.  She earned her Certified Insurance Counselor designation in 2011 and actively pursues continuing education in the insurance industry.  She is a member of the Young Insurance Professionals and is involved with PIA of Louisiana and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana (IIABL). She lives in New Orleans with her husband, Greg, and their three children.

Michael S. “Mike” Jones, CHST is the Vice President of Loss Prevention for The Gray Insurance Company. Since joining the Gray team in 2002 as a Loss Prevention representative, Mike has worked closely with his clients by providing superior services to exceed industry standards. Prior to joining Gray, Mike was the Safety Director at Grimaldi Construction Company in the Greater New Orleans area. He was instrumental in developing standardized safety procedures and conducting safety training for his team. Born the first son of James and Doris Jones and into a career Navy family, Mike graduated from high school in Jacksonville, Florida.  He accepted a full scholarship to Tulane University and earned his Bachelor of Science degree. During Mike’s spare time, he gives back to the community by providing leadership and youth mentoring and supporting sports programs at local YMCAs. He is a dedicated father to his daughter, Aliyah.

Eric Berger is the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for The Gray Insurance Company.  He is responsible for directing government relations activities and initiatives to advance the Company’s business interests in matters related to public policy and regulatory environments.

Since the beginning of his career at Gray in 1993, Eric has overseen the acquisition of Certificates of Authority, managed regulatory compliance, and supervised market conduct exams. He has represented the Company’s interests before state legislatures and the United States Congress. He has also served in the Company’s audit, pre-insurance survey, loss prevention, underwriting, and agency departments.

In 2008, Eric was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Company by Governor Jindal. He remains active on the Louisiana Citizens’ Executive Committee, Audit Committee and he chairs the Actuarial Committee.   In addition to being active in insurance industry trade associations, including serving on the national policy-making committees of the American Insurance Association and the Property and Casualty Insurers of America, Eric also serves as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Louisiana Insurers Conference.

He studied Economics and Political Science at Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas and earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane University.

Eric lives in New Orleans and is an avid hunter and fisherman.  He is active in Scouting as well as several local and national charitable organizations.

Michael J. “Mike” Scorsone is the Vice President of Compliance of The Gray Insurance Company, Gray Surplus Lines Insurance Company, and The Gray Indemnity Company. He began his career at Gray in August 2005, working in Maintenance, Accounting and eventually, Underwriting. Since then, he has taken on greater responsibility, directing the Regulatory Compliance department.  He has been instrumental in setting up a captive structure, developing alternative workers’ compensation plans, and researching and implementing a plan to domicile a new insurance company. Prior to joining Gray, Mike served in the United States Marine Corps as a crew chief of an Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV). In 2003, he was part of the initial invasion force engaged in combat operations in support of Operation Iraq Freedom. He received his Honorable Discharge in 2005. He studied at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and received his MBA in Management in 2016. Michael lives in New Orleans with his wife, Jennifer, and their children.

Tricia Magaw is the Chief Information Officer for The Gray Insurance Company. Since joining The Gray Insurance Company in 2008, she has worked as a Project Manager, Database Administrator and Software Developer. Before joining Gray, Tricia worked as the Information Systems Director for an international company, and has also served in city government as Senior Program Analyst and Network Manager. Tricia has a degree in Computer Science and is continuing her education at the University of New Orleans. She currently lives in New Orleans with her husband, Wade, and their three children.

Paul Trepagnier is the Chief Information Security Officer for The Gray Insurance Company. Since 2000, he has worked with Gray & Company, Inc., and its affiliates as Software Development Manager, Software Architect and Lead Developer. A graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree, Paul earned his Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of New Orleans and his Ph.D. from Tulane University in Computer Science. Focusing his dissertation on autonomous vehicles, Paul led a team to compete in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge in 2005 and in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. He is recognized as the lead inventor on six U.S. Patents related to autonomous vehicles. Paul lives in Metairie with his wife, Jennifer, and his sons, Taylor, Michael, Justin, and Ryan.

Darlene Young, PHR, SHRM-CP is the Director of Human Resources for Gray & Company, Inc. and subsidiaries. Since arriving at Gray in 2018, she has implemented many human resources processes and is responsible for hiring and employee professional development.  Before arriving at Gray, Darlene worked in human resources, operations and administration in several different industries. She is active in the Society of Human Resources (SHRM) and the local Northshore Society of Human Resources chapter. She served as past President of The Northshore Society of Human Resources and remains an active member of the board of directors.  She earned her Bachelor Degree in Human Resource Management, certifications in Professional of Human Resources (PHR) and SHRM-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). She lives in Covington with her husband and has 2 grown daughters.