THE OPPORTUNITY

For over 30 years, MassMutual has demonstrated its commitment to the life insurance needs of institutions and employer groups with its institutionally priced life insurance solutions.  MassMutual has consistently developed and offered life insurance solutions designed to assist employers to attract and retain executive talent, to informally fund benefit plans such as SERPS and non-Qualified Deferred Compensation plans, and to serve as balance sheet assets featuring attractive yields over the long term. We are seeking a leader with demonstrated success growing the top and bottom lines, to continue developing and managing market-leading teams of wholesalers, while providing leadership to all pre-sales, new business and post-issue functions supporting MassMutual’s Corporate and Bank-Owned Life insurance business.

 The successful candidate will be responsible for championing and managing a book of business totaling over $34 billion of assets under management across over 3,800 client plans and for maintaining MassMutual’s market-leading position in the space.

The Head of Institutional Insurance will set and execute business strategy for these markets via leadership of sales and distribution, client services administration, in-force management, and identifying and promoting market competitive solutions within the company’s profit and risk parameters.

Reporting to the Head of Institutional Solutions, this role is part of MassMutual’s Institutional Solutions leadership team. Institutional Solutions is a highly visible and valued division within the company, contributing meaningfully to the company’s results.

The Team

The incumbent will manage a team of professionals across all functions of the business life cycle, from market development, establishing and maintaining distribution relationships, sales support of specialized distributors, new business processing, and post-issue client services and administration.

The Head of Institutional Insurance will excel at the matrix management and engagement of teams throughout the enterprise, including actuarial, technology, project management, digital and data science, law, claims, marketing, audit, and human resources.

The Impact:

• Optimize sales and profitability as the company’s market-facing leader to external stakeholders and business partners, clients, and distribution relationships. Champion and set priorities for initiatives and projects within the company designed to deliver new solutions to the markets, enhance client and producer experiences, increase efficiency, within profitability and risk management parameters.
• Lead a management team of experienced individual contributors and managers responsible for:
  •  New business and post-issue client services staff,
  • Wholesalers focused on the BOLI and/or COLI markets,
  • Technical quantitative consulting staff including actuarial talent, and
  • Investment subject matter experts and investment operations staff.
• Serve as Registered Supervisory Principal of FINRA licensed/registered representative wholesaler staff responsible for sales of private placement and registered VUL products
• Work with HR Compensation, develop and manage Variable Incentive Compensation (VIC) plans designed to effectively reward and incentivize BOLI/COLI wholesaler staff, compliant with parameters established by audit and compliance
• Collaborate within Institutional Solutions and across the enterprise to set and execute upon business strategy, partner with functions across the business and enterprise to ensure alignment
• Partner closely with actuarial product and pricing staff for development of new/updated products solutions meeting needs of the market and on the management of an in-force book of business comprised of product chassis including general account UL, Interest sensitive whole life, book value hybrid separate account, registered VUL, and private placement VUL with and without Stable Value features.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key brokers, advisors and corporate and bank clients
• Continuously optimize the company’s growth in the COLI and BOLI markets via a well-managed sales pipeline for identification and management of the population of new business opportunities, while staying abreast of market developments, needs, and identification of potential gaps in our solution set
• Keen focus on the customer, ensuring availability of solutions that meet a wide variety of client needs within desired target markets
• Maintain an active and visible presence in the market and BOLI and COLI industry. Act as a thought leader and partner, manage annual sponsorship opportunities and related budgets
• Ensure the achievement of profitability and sales targets, while growing the business in a risk-controlled manner commensurate to the market and the company’s parameters
• Produce results that maximize profitability, risk-return, quality/accuracy and operating efficiency
• Ensure the effective support and high performance of in-force and new business management
• Manage operations to ensure service delivery is high quality, accurate, timely and compliant
• Deliver a customer experience that fully meets expectations and creates value
• Utilize competitive intelligence to enhance profitability, packaging and positioning
• Implement tools to communicate key business metrics and outcomes, and ensure necessary actions
• Lead, motivate and develop a team of diverse professionals to achieve business objectives, develop succession pipelines and create a highly effective and inclusive team culture

Qualifications

• An accomplished professional with a proven track record of strategic and tactical leadership in driving superior results spanning sales and profitability
• 15+ years in institutional financial services, with direct leadership experience in COLI and BOLI markets
• A minimum of a   4 year degree with a preference for an advanced business degree and/or professional qualifications
• Must be FINRA licensed including Series 6 or 7 and 24 or 26

• Customer and results-focused, with expertise in relationship management, distribution, and sales functions
• Demonstrates initiative and sense of urgency; takes ownership and is results-orientated
• Ability to effectively manage and deliver on multiple concurrent deliverables
• Comfortable dealing with both complexity and ambiguity, with ability to explore multiple solutions
• Strong analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, high degree of financial acumen
• Knowledgeable in relevant products and services, investments, applicable state and federal laws and regulations, industry standards and the competitive environment
• Disciplined approach to strategic initiatives, business projects and day-to-day activities
• Experience leading business and strategic initiatives in a highly matrixed, collaborative organization
• Proven ability to develop, lead and manage a diverse teams of professionals, both within own team and across organizational boundaries
• Ability to analyze and comprehend complex information, as well as convey complex materials to senior executives
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written, verbal, presentation)

MassMutual is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply. Note: Veterans are welcome to apply, regardless of their discharge status.

If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.