Terry Rasmussen, President and CEO of Thrivent (USA) shares how the organisation stays true to its 120 year old roots, whilst innovating and transforming to better serve current and future generations. Rasmussen also discusses how her leadership style has changed through the course of her career, and how Thrivent ensures its employees are aligned with the organisation’s values and mission.
Thrivent is over 120 years old, how do you stay true to your roots whilst modernising and transforming to better serve current and future generations of clients?
For us, it's straightforward. Our purpose is to empower lives of service and faith, and it guides everything we do. This focus on supporting others has been core to who we are since our founding 120 years ago.
As we look at serving future generations, we're focused on evolving into a digital-first financial services leader to help more people achieve their financial goals and foster generosity – while staying true to our purpose.
We’re introducing programmes, services and foundational technology tailored to current and future client needs. For example, Thrivent’s Money Canvas programme offers free financial coaching to anyone, and initiatives like Thrivent’s Planning Platform enable our financial advisors to provide exceptional purpose-driven advice. These steps are paving the way for tomorrow’s generations.
How is Thrivent leveraging technology and innovation to enhance its services and client experience?
There’s a lot of exciting change at Thrivent as we modernise our organisation. Over the past three years, we've invested in talent – approximately 500 team members – technology and new ways of working to empower our advisors and better connect with clients.
We’re prioritising client- and advisor-centric technology choices and experiences, listening to their needs and connecting with them on their terms – when and how they want.
We’re a large organisation, yet we’re working in new and more efficient ways. We’re embracing innovation by forming small, focused teams with clear goals, then trusting them to execute effectively.
Thrivent’s purpose is to empower lives of service and faith, with financial clarity being a priority. How do you embed this into the organisation’s daily operations and culture? How does Thrivent put its purpose into action?
Our purpose is embodied by our financial advisors and clients, who view money as a tool rather than a goal. This belief guides planning clients’ financial futures, creating legacies for loved ones and contributing to their communities. It’s not merely a transaction; it’s a long-term partnership based on goals and values – and today we serve over two million clients, manage more than USD 170 billion in assets.
Thrivent builds on this by supporting and enhancing clients’ community service efforts through generosity and service programmes, and charitable giving, building a legacy of lasting positive impact. Every year we help raise and donate hundreds of millions of dollars and coordinate millions of volunteer hours to support the causes that inspire our clients.
How does Thrivent support and enable its clients to make positive contributions to their communities, especially during times of rising living costs?
We listen to our clients to understand their giving preferences and incorporate their feedback into our generosity programmes so they’re easy, impactful and repeatable. A great example is our Thrivent Action Teams programme, which started in 2014, to help clients kickstart volunteer efforts and reduce barriers to organising and funding.
Thrivent Action Teams offer essential support by providing marketing kits, volunteer t-shirts and up to USD 250 in seed money. This helps clients organise volunteer activities with their friends, family and neighbours. According to clients, Thrivent Action Teams make giving back more affordable and accessible amidst rising costs.
This collaboration with clients over the past decade is unmatched. Last year, we marked a significant milestone by raising USD1 billion for communities nationwide through one million Thrivent Action Teams.
How does Thrivent ensure that its employees are aligned with the organisation’s values and mission? Can you discuss any specific initiatives?
Everything we do is anchored in our purpose and values. It’s the foundation for our growth and transformation so we can serve generations to come. This clarity helps us align and deliver outcomes for our clients and Thrivent.
Last year we launched Thrivent’s Leadership Excellence awards to highlight employees who embody our purpose and leadership values. Their stories are celebrated by our workforce and inspire others to lead in a way that supports Thrivent’s growth and transformation.
At Thrivent, generosity is a core value for many of our employees. We support our workforce by offering numerous opportunities to pursue their personal passions and causes they care about, including paid time off for volunteering and matching donations.
In 2023, these programmes inspired Thrivent employees, board members and retirees to volunteer 41,786 hours and donate USD 10.3 million in funds – with an additional USD 11 million matched by Thrivent.
What steps has Thrivent taken to promote diversity and inclusion within the organisation, and how do you see this evolving in the future?
As our nation’s demographics shift, we’re changing with them. We’re committed to cultivating a welcoming culture at Thrivent, where clients and team members feel that they’re welcome and belong. Simply put, we are stronger with a team that reflects our clients and includes broad perspectives.
Organisations like Thrivent can have a positive impact on future leaders– demonstrated through programmes like our collaborations with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions. Through these partnerships, we offer mentorship opportunities, service projects and financial education to students – and we’re able to recruit diverse talent to our organisation.
Thrivent has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for the 13th year in a row, can you share some insight into how you’ve achieved this?
Thrivent was recognised again as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies because of our strong culture of business ethics and integrity. Ethisphere starts with an extensive questionnaire, asks companies to provide hundreds of proof points, and then vets every application with a panel of experts. After the detailed review, Ethisphere once again selected. We’re one of only six financial services company on this year’s list, which recognises organisations around the world for best-in-class ethics and compliance practices.
This recognition shows how we’re living into our purpose – to empower lives of service and faith – and delivers on our core value of commitment. Commitment means we strive for excellence and growth in all that we do, and our commitment to an ethical culture is one of the reasons why our workforce, advisors and clients put their trust in Thrivent.
How would you describe your leadership style, and how has it evolved over the course of your career?
My career journey – from dental hygienist, CPA, attorney, general counsel, to CEO – has deeply influenced my leadership style.
Early on, exploring different paths ignited my passion for learning and highlighted the importance of continuous education. Taking risks and embracing opportunities, even amid uncertainty, taught me that growth often stems from trying and failing forward. And mentorship was pivotal throughout, with diverse mentors offering valuable guidance and support throughout my career.
My leadership style reflects this journey – and I work to create an environment that values continuous learning, smart risk-taking and championing others. I focus on having a clear vision for the future, empowering my team, providing necessary resources, and fostering innovation and collaboration.
What value does Thrivent get from being part of ICMIF’s global network of fellow purpose-led insurers from across the world?
For Thrivent, ICMIF membership is ultimately about better serving our clients and driving sustainable growth. ICMIF’s global network offers valuable insights and best practices and promotes collaboration among mission-driven insurance companies. We learn from each other about adopting long-term perspectives and growing our businesses with purpose.
