Data Empowerment and Positive Culture

”The power of data not only is going to help our clients, but in addition to knowing more about our clients than anyone else, we also know more about our advisors’ businesses. So as we get more data, we’re going to have more insight and understanding of how do you build a great business.”

Tim Gerend is President at Northwestern Mutual. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer. And in this episode, Tim highlights the critical role of data in understanding and improving the employee experience, drawing a direct correlation to business success. Gerend shares his journey and the various leadership roles he’s taken on at Northwestern Mutual, emphasizing the company’s mission-driven culture and the focus on providing exceptional employee and client experiences. The conversation also explores the importance of technology, including AI, in creating efficiency and personalization for both employees and clients, aiming towards a future where personal growth and business growth go hand in hand. Sponsored by FirstUp, this episode provides valuable insights into leveraging data and technology to foster a culture of excellence and teamwork.

”We have a culture that’s highly abundant, so people do a lot of sharing. So while they’re independent contractors, they also are really excellent at helping each other. And so we’re bringing them in to this culture where we have an expectation that they’re going to be really good at what they do, they’re going to serve their clients and their community at the highest level. And they’re going to give back, and they’re going to help others. And I think it’s one of the great characteristics of our culture that our very best give back the most. And we want that to be the experience from when people start day one.”

• How to leverage data to improve the employee, and by extension, client experience
• Tips on offering opportunities to learn and grow
• Advice on aligning the client and employee digital experience

”This is really a people business. It’s certainly true in the field where it’s relationship building and all of it that you would expect, but I think what really makes this place is the caliber of the people, very mission driven. Really smart, focused on doing the right thing. And there’s a lot of teamwork. For a really big company, we’ve got one field force, we’ve got one client experience. And I love that part of it because I’ve always liked being part of a winning team. I think when you can have people working on something big together and you can do more together than you could alone, that’s hard, but it also for me has been really rewarding.”