Innovation, inspiration, and inclusion are three tenets embodied by Kevin Hogan, Chief Executive Officer at Corebridge Financial.

 

Read Kevin’s Long View interview for his perspective about the role of innovation in driving growth and differentiation, why inspiration is key to his leadership style, and how his international experience taught him much about inclusion, which still drives him today.

Question:
In an increasingly competitive and regulated market, what role does innovation play in Corebridge Financial's growth and differentiation strategy? Can you share examples of how technology or new approaches are helping to shape the company's future?
Answer:
Our legacy is built on a history of innovation in products, services, distribution, and risk management, and our future success will be dependent on it too. Innovation will remain critical to not only our success but the relevance of the industry.

Dating back through our predecessors, we have a long and distinguished track record of innovation. This past October, we commemorated fifty years since we implemented one of the first 403(b) retirement savings plans with a public school system - in Miami-Dade – a system which is an important customer to this day.

Our predecessors were among the first to distribute Fixed Annuities through the bank channel, and advisory options through separate accounts, and I am proud of the more recent success of our SimpliNow underwriting platform in Life Insurance.

Continuing this tradition, we just launched our first registered index-linked annuity (RILA), which we named Corebridge MarketLock®.  It offers many of the popular features found in the RILA market, but it also includes a unique accumulation strategy that is exclusive to Corebridge which we believe sets the product apart.  

We are always working with our customers, distribution partners and others to determine where we should invest and break new ground with our products, processes and experiences. This is part of our DNA.
Question:
How would you describe your leadership style? How has your approach evolved, and what leadership principles guide your decision-making?
Answer:
My leadership style is one of inspiration, inclusion and collaboration. Early in my life I learned an important lesson, that a manager doesn't build a business. Instead, a manager builds an organization, a team - and the team builds the business. 

From there, I have learned that long term success depends on the combination of strategy, leadership and execution. The strategy must be clear, execution must be disciplined, and leadership is what propels the organization to success. It is also essential to have the right people in the right roles with unique perspective and complementary skills. With that foundation in place, it is all about trusting your team, measuring progress, and course correcting when necessary.

At every step, I'm guided by our purpose and our values.

Our purpose is clear: We proudly partner with financial professionals and institutions to make it possible for more people to take action in their financial lives – for today and tomorrow.

Our values are simple:
  • We’re stronger as one
  • We deliver on our commitments 
  • We learn, improve and innovate
  • We are inclusive 

When I'm faced with decisions, I ask myself, 'does this decision help bring our purpose to life?' And 'does it align with and reinforce the values we believe in?'  These serve as my North Star because they represent who we are and what we want to be.
Question:
You've worked extensively overseas in various leadership positions. How has your international experience influenced your strategies at Corebridge? What key lessons from your time abroad have proven most valuable in navigating today's challenges?
Answer:
My first role out of college was in the home office of an international property and casualty business. I worked in our headquarters supporting offices all over the world. That helped me from the outset to embrace a “one company” state of mind. I learned about how big the company was, and at the same time, how we operated a series of smaller businesses. So while my first business card may have had a New York address printed on it, I was part of a larger entity that brought together collective ideas, skills and resources in support of all business lines. I expect that same mentality at Corebridge – as mentioned earlier, one of our values is that we are stronger as one.

My early days in New York became a springboard to positions based in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and beyond. With that, came learning about different countries and different practices. Through those experiences, I learned a lot about inclusion that still drives me today. Cultures are different because histories are different – reflecting in food, religion, music, and business practices. But the common thread is the human spirit. Everywhere, people want the same thing – a safe place to live, a better life for their children, to be fairly rewarded, and to do meaningful work. This was the most valuable lesson of all!  Everywhere, people are more the same than they may seem different.

Because of the different cultures, I also learned that it was important to understand customers' needs from their perspective and orient our business model to their needs. 

Working across countries and cultures helped instill in me a spirit of experimentation and innovation. Much of my international work included forming new business approaches or taking a successful practice from one location and emulating its success in another. But not in the sense of forcing a square peg into a round hole. We had to evaluate what worked well in one location, and whether it would work as well in another. If not, could we get creative and do things differently? It didn't always work, but we did the analysis and were willing to test ideas. More often than not – we found a way to make it work! And then that practice became the next example we could build from. Like a flywheel – creativity keeps building momentum. That is the spirit I try to ingrain in our culture at Corebridge. 

Another important lesson I learned, especially in the last ten years here in the U.S., is the importance of contributions from every member of the team working together. I am very proud of how our company was able to transform from a part of a larger organization to an independent leader in the market. That is a testament to our people. Through many challenges, they have worked hard to serve our customers, partners and stakeholders. And we as a team are delivering.
Question:
Looking ahead, what are your priorities for Corebridge? What opportunities or challenges do you anticipate, and how are you positioning the company to continue thriving in the evolving financial services landscape?
Answer:
This is an exciting time for our company and our industry, and we are extremely optimistic about the future! We have built a diversified portfolio of market-leading businesses that can perform in different market conditions, and we see tremendous opportunity in each business. 
 
The aging of America defines our opportunity. With 4 million people turning 65 this year and every year for the next ten years, there is clearly a large and growing retirement aged population in the U.S. in need of income and accumulation solutions - especially with the reduction of traditional corporate pensions and social safety nets. The need for life insurance also continues to grow – just 51% of consumers report owning life insurance, and among those who have coverage, nearly a quarter say they don’t have enough. Considering these factors and the complexity of financial planning, we believe that Americans will continue to seek the advice of financial professionals.
 
To deliver on those customer demands, and navigate a very dynamic external environment, my vision for Corebridge is that we build on our position as a modern enterprise that is enabled by technology, driven by data and powered by our people. This is an ambitious vision that requires us to align behind our purpose and to do things a little bit differently.
 
From a technology perspective, it means adopting a "data-focused, digital first" mindset, building on the significant investments we made related to the separation from AIG to harness all the data at our fingertips to improve our performance, which ultimately includes the judicious deployment of advanced practices such as AI. It also means delivering an end-to-end digital experience for our customers and for our partners.
 
But ultimately, I envision our future remaining true to who we are today -- an organization focused on working with our distribution partners to help our customers take action in their financial lives. And while technology will play a big part in how we operate and serve our various stakeholders, people will be the heart and soul of what drives us.
Question:
Launching a new company must be incredibly stressful. How do you manage a work-home balance, and what do you do to recharge?
Answer:
I believe that managing work-life balance and taking the time to recharge is so important. Especially in the 'always on' world we live in today. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day – we all need to be intentional about making sure we’re taking care of our physical, mental, and emotional health.
 
For me, regular exercise has become essential, especially since I also very much enjoy being in the kitchen. I am the youngest of 11 so I essentially grew up in the kitchen! It is my happy place. Everywhere I have lived I tried to learn local dishes, and I enjoy sharing my repertoire with friends and family.
 
I also love reading, history, and music – and when time permits, traveling to new places. I still enjoy learning about other cultures and I think I always will.