In this revealing conversation, retired Northwestern Mutual President Greg Oberland shares how be progressed through his career, beginning as an attorney in the company’s corporate law department and culminating his 36 years there at the helm. He learned the value of taking a business-minded approach when making decisions, while also embracing transparency, vulnerability and openness.
Oberland also shares his commitment to advancing racial equity in a white male-dominated environment and how passion for social justice was instilled in him at a young age.
Tune in hear Oberland’s thoughts and words of inspiration!
Episode Highlights
06:57 - Being trained as a lawyer, if I give someone due process, and then they can't do the job, I'm able to sleep at night with the decisions that I make about people, and I needed to have that framework early on. Otherwise, I'd agonize over these things because I'm such a people person. But with this framework, I was able to very clearly work through this, think very clearly, and make the right decisions for the organization.
14:40 - As I became a leader, it was my passion to open the windows, so to speak to the organization, and allow diversity of thought to come in, diversity of people to come into the organization and respect people for who they are. And as long as we're all working toward the goals of the organization, there shouldn't be any problem with diversity, equity and inclusion at Northwestern.
16:26 - This issue of people not being able to bring their authentic selves to work is something that the top leaders recognize, understand and want to change. If we were going to move forward as an organization, they had to see their leaders become vulnerable on this issue.
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Guest Bio:
Greg Oberland is the retired president of Northwestern Mutual, where he worked for 36 years. He began his career there as an attorney in 1982, but five years later made the move into management. He has 30 years of experience working in a series of progressive leadership roles for the company in such varied areas as operations, technology, product development and sales/marketing.
He was appointed president of NM in 2014 and was actively involved in the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts serving on both the company’s DEI committee and as the executive sponsor of the African American Employee Affinity Group, the first employee affinity group formed at the company.
Oberland has also been actively involved in many non-profit organizations in the Milwaukee area, serving terms as president of the American Red Cross of SE Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public Library Foundation and Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Currently, Oberland is on the board of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and a national health organization. He and his wife, Rhonda, are philanthropically involved in advancing racial equity (health, education, housing and economic opportunity) in the Milwaukee community, as well as the performing arts. They have four adult children and eight grandchildren.
