'The privilege of a lifetime'​

'The privilege of a lifetime'

This is my final blog as CEO of American Family Insurance. It’s been a privilege to be part of the senior leadership team these past 10-plus years, and to help steward my company forward. As my last day gets closer, I’ve been thinking a lot about the journey I’ve been on the past decade. I’m trying to put into words the gratitude I feel for this company, its customers, its people – agency owners and employees – and everyone at our operating companies.

It’s amazing to consider the path we’ve been on together! With that journey coming to an end, I’ve gotten a couple common questions:

  • What are you most proud of during your time as CEO?
  • What was the defining moment in your career?

I’m proud of so many things. The growth over the last decade is a big one. American Family basically doubled the size of our organization at a time when the industry … well, didn’t. Revenue, assets and surplus all enjoyed tremendous growth. We also maintained our strong financial capital position, and customer satisfaction and retention numbers. We more than doubled our workforce. We added new distribution options, technology and expanded our geographic footprint.

But for all the impressive business results – the what of our business – I’m most impressed with the how: How we got these results. American Family Insurance has emphasized innovation, speed and nimbleness, and lean startup principles. We developed so much talent across our enterprise. We embraced diversity, equity, inclusion and justice concepts in how we interact with each other and our customers. As my last day as CEO gets closer, these are the things that bring me the most pride.

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We are in no way perfect as a company. There’s still a lot of work ahead, but we’ve made incredible progress. With the guidance and steady hand of our new leadership team and CEO-Elect Bill Westrate, I believe we will continue to reach new heights as an organization.

These things make me proud to have been associated with American Family Insurance for my nearly 40-year career.

As for the defining moment of those four decades – well, that’s easy!

In 2011, Telisa Yancy was charged with coming up with a theme for a new, big and bold advertising campaign for our brand. We needed something that would be authentic, genuine – and motivate us as a company to think bigger, broader and bolder. It needed to stand the test of time. It needed to change the way we think about our business, how we work together, the words we use, and who we hire and promote.

It was a tall order.

Telisa did her research, formulated a plan and pitched a Dreams Forever campaign. It was risky! She told me recently when she showed a colleague the presentation (along with the costs!), the response was: “This looks great, Telisa. It will either help your career or get you fired!” She believed in the campaign, and we are seeing the results of that work today.

Dreams has become so much more than an ad campaign. It’s our American Family brand now – the inner fabric of who we are and how we show up for all our customers. It’s embedded in our strategy. Dreams is literally part of our mission and vision: To inspire, protect and restore DREAMS. At the time, I was a new CEO, so it forced me to also think bigger, bolder and dream about what we might become.

Think about it: How many ad campaigns reflect the inner soul of a company? How many align with strategy, culture, branding and vocabulary? Which ones genuinely represent who a company is and what it does? How about ad campaigns that translate beyond the brand or workplace – to families and communities?

In an age of critters, characters and commoditization – Dreams sets American Family Insurance apart in our industry and influences our enterprise to stay true to who we are: our efforts are noble, meaningful and essential. I’d say Dreams also influenced the approach for our other consumer-facing brands. Through recent brand refreshes at The General and Main Street America, it’s obvious we've intentionally gotten closer to our customers in a real and authentic manner.

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I’m so proud of the work we’ve all done to make this concept more than a reality – to make it who we are as a company. We truly inspire, protect and restore dreams – every day. Finding and ACTING on Dreams was a defining moment for me as CEO. I’m so proud of the results we’ve had, that simply aren’t possible without talented and passionate people.

To me, the American Family enterprise is well and uniquely positioned to continue its rise in the insurance space. I can’t wait to see each of you make it happen.

To our customers, employees and agency owners, partners and communities we serve: Thank you for believing in the DREAM and in me.

It’s been the privilege of a lifetime.

Congratulations Jack!

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Dave Price

Information Technology Relationship Manager at American Family Insurance

3y

May you be richly blessed in your future Jack. Congrats!

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Venu Sandireddy

Senior Engineering Leader at Salesforce | Ex-Twilio | Ex-Zendesk

3y

Congrats Jack. It has been a great journey for Amfam under your leadership. All the best to you in the future.

Mary Reines

Budget & Planning Analyst at American Family Insurance

3y

Thanks for your leadership! Best to you in retirement!

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Gwen Kelly

Multicultural Marketing Evangelist | Thought Leader | EDI Strategist | Social Impact Entrepreneur | Board Member | Culture Curator

3y

Looking forward to your next chapter so more dreams become reality.

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