GASTON CAPERTON was born in Charleston, West Virginia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of North Carolina and then worked at a small, family-owned insurance company. He became president of McDonough Caperton Insurance Group in 1976. He was elected to his first term as governor in 1989 and was reelected in 1992. During his tenure as governor, he initiated a $290 million school construction and renovation program that improved more than 470 schools and built 39 new ones. From 1999 to 2012, Governor Caperton served as the president of the College Board.