Leaders Need 'Micro-Knowledge' to Achieve Big Goals

And you need to have an execution focus. You have to help your teams achieve their goals. If you can't execute on your goals, you won't be a successful leader.

How has financial regulation affected retirement planning?

It provides guardrails for financial professionals who are trying to recommend an investment or an insurance product that most closely matches what the client wants to accomplish.

But a challenge is the complexity. We have so many regulatory [bodies] that we're covering or overlapping the same ground: There's the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, Department of Labor, and insurance and securities regulations in 50 states.

All those approaches really have created a challenge for firms that are trying to develop policies, procedures and controls.

So we're trying to help the companies that sell our products — distribution partners — with their processes for overseeing compliance and sales supervision.

Our compliance teams are working with field supervision teams and compliance teams at companies where financial professionals work. We're talking to them about how our products fit and the areas where they best make sense.

You collaborate with key legislators. On what?

We're advocating for what's in the best interest of our customers mainly through education.

A great model is that there was no SEC form for the registered index-linked annuity. So investors had to use a different form, which was really complicated to understand.

Along with other industry players, we urged Congress to pass a law that directed the Securities and Exchange Commission to develop a form that's customized for that product.

Can any of the work you do with legislators be called lobbying?

Yes, sometimes. But lobbying has all kinds of interpretations. Typically, when we're lobbying, we're providing education in areas where we think investors and retirement savers would benefit.

What are your thoughts about insurance for retirement planning in the future?

We definitely have retirement challenges in this country. There's great opportunity for insurance products to help people if you're doing it in the right way.

Jackson is providing what we call "Financial Freedom for Life": guaranteed income and products that help people invest and save for retirement. 

You were a federal prosecutor earlier in your career. What did that job entail?

I prosecuted crimes in the eastern division of Missouri — everything from bank robberies to complicated criminal organizations — essentially, money-laundering cases, and tax related as well.

My job was to meet with federal agents, get the information and evidence they had, seek an indictment and prosecute the case.

Sounds exciting. Why did you leave it?

I was ready to do other things. It was a great experience and something I had really wanted to do. But it wasn't the last thing I wanted to do. 

I wanted to help companies figure out what the regulations were and protect customers.

Does your background as a prosecutor help you in your current job?

I think it does. I have the perspective of a regulator, having been a quasi-regulator. So I understand how regulators think and can communicate effectively with them.

Internally, I can help identify risks that someone who maybe wasn't in that role may not see. I understand how the SEC, Department of Justice and other regulators might view a certain situation or problem.