INNOVATING IN FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR MORE THAN 165 YEARS
Founded in 1857, Northwestern Mutual, a FORTUNE 500® financial services company, embodies a unique culture dedicated to helping people achieve financial security. As a mutual company, Northwestern Mutual answers to its policy owners — not Wall Street. Through a comprehensive planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of the company’s financial professionals, personalized digital experience, and innovative products to help its more than five million clients protect and prosper.
CHAMPIONS FOR A STRONGER, VIBRANT TECH ECOSYSTEM IN MILWAUKEE
In 2017, Northwestern Mutual’s CEO and Chairman John Schlifske had a vision for the company and the vitality of the region: to utilize its deep ties within Milwaukee to transform its business and the ecosystem. The MKE Tech Hub was established out of this vision and centered on advancing Milwaukee as a national hub for technology innovation, research, business and talent development. Northwestern Mutual continues to be a strong champion of the greater Milwaukee tech ecosystem.
LEGACY OF INNOVATION
Northwestern Mutual holds the distinction of being the pioneering company in the United States to own, rather than lease, the first commercial computer equipped with core memory. Since then, it continues to stay at the forefront of technological advancements in the financial services industry.
FinTech Breakthrough: Transforming Comprehensive Financial Planning
The company offers an award-winning planning platform that comprehensively combines permanent life insurance with investments and annuities. It’s an approach that’s been shown it can lead to better outcomes. Co-created with Northwestern Mutual’s financial advisors and incorporating extensive feedback from clients, this innovative tool was built to serve clients with both the simplest – and the most sophisticated – financial planning needs.
Innovative Alliances: Shaping the Regional Tech Frontier
(NMDSI)
In 2018, Northwestern Mutual, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee announced the creation of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMSDI), a partnership that advances southeastern Wisconsin as a national hub for data science, while creating an organic pipeline of tech talent in the area.
With a renewed $35 million five-year investment in 2023, the NMDSI continues to focus in three key areas – research, talent, and community. As part of this renewal, NMDSI launched the Center of Excellence Initiative that supports research and curricular funding to faculty and students from the partner universities.
Thank you to MKE Tech for making this book possible, they are the voice and champion of Innovate® Milwaukee that unifies the community!
Innovation Accelerator: Driving Actionable Innovation
(Variable)
Variable, Northwestern Mutual’s innovation accelerator, explores ideas with a blend of research, macro-trends exploration, partnerships, and targeted experiments with emerging technologies to transform and stay ahead of potential threats. Variable brings actionable insights to business leaders gleaned from targeted experiments to inform its multi-year strategy and make informed decisions that drive value, enhance competitive advantage, and better prepare the business to harness advances in technology.
Unlocking Business Potential: Harnessing the Power of GenAI
for Transformation
Northwestern Mutual is also harnessing the power of GenAI to transform the business. The focus is not only on building individual tools and services, but exploring how this technology can drive transformative change across the enterprise. By integrating GenAI at the core of how the company does business, Northwestern Mutual aims to unlock new efficiencies, improve decision-making processes, and create a culture of work transformation that bolsters the company’s protect and prosper promise.
VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Northwestern Mutual’s unique approach to help clients build financial security revolves around its financial advisors who are core to its mission–crafting personalized financial plans for clients and helping people take steps to build financial security.
The distinct approach starts with protecting clients from the risks they face while also delivering options for long-term prosperity. The company believes it’s critical for clients to both protect what they have through their leading insurance products; while also grow wealth by investing to achieve long-term financial security.
