This year marks the first time since she became EVP and GC at Columbus-based Aflac in 2014 that Boone Tillman appeared on the compensation list, although former top lawyers at the insurance giant have made the rankings in the past. To earn the No. 1 spot, Boone Tillman brought home total cash pay of $1,393,844. That breaks down to a $564,000 salary and $829,844 in nonequity incentives. She also received nearly $1.9 million in stock awards last year.

Boone Tillman joined Aflac as a staff attorney in January 1996 and moved up quickly. By the next year, she was promoted to second VP of the legal department, and she became VP in 2000. She became SVP of human resources in August 2001 and EVP of corporate services in 2008.