Northwestern Mutual announces key leadership shuffle

Northwestern Mutual has announced several executive leadership appointments.

Alexa von Tobel, Northwestern Mutual chief innovation officer, has announced that she will leave the company to launch a new venture in the innovation and start-up space. The bestselling author of Financially Fearless and founder of LearnVest, von Tobel was instrumental in accelerating Northwestern Mutual’s client planning experience and advancing the company’s innovation efforts.

Von Tobel will be succeeded by Souheil Badran, who is joining the company as chief innovation officer and executive vice president. Badran will be a member of the company’s senior leadership team and will report to John Schlifske, chairman, president and CEO. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Badran served as president for the Americas at Alibaba’s Aliplay Ant Financial, the world’s largest third-party payment platform.

“I want to thank Alexa for helping us think bigger and expand our lens on innovation and our digital experience work,” Schlifske said. “We plan to continue working together in business ventures as she takes this next step that she’s chosen to pursue in the innovation space. We look forward to having Souheil join our senior leadership team. His experience and track record make him the perfect successor for our top innovation role.”

“I could not be more proud of the work we have done together over the last four years of merging LearnVest and Northwestern Mutual, and the work we will continue to do in the future,” von Tobel said. “I love this great company, the amazing people who work here, and everything our mission stands for. I feel deeply honored to have been a part of that important work for people across America, and I’m thrilled for this next chapter and excited to hand the torch to Souheil.”

Several senior leaders in the company have also been promoted to executive vice president. They include:

• Tim Gerend, head of career distribution, leading growth and development of Northwestern Mutual’s financial advisor system
• Aditi Gokhale, chief marketing and communications officer
• Beth Rodenhuis, chief transformation officer
• Emilia Sherifova, chief technology officer
• Don Robertson, chief human resource officer

“As we transform our company to give clients what they need and deserve, the breadth and depth of knowledge on our senior leadership team is critical,” Schlifske said. “This team brings diverse backgrounds and perspectives to the table, with a shared commitment to innovate and deliver results.”