News Releases
Milwaukee, WI, March 24, 2014 – This week Northwestern Mutual will serve as a presenting sponsor of the inaugural “Forbes Reinventing America Summit: Leading the Next Industrial Revolution,” on March 26-28 at the J.W. Marriott in Chicago. The two-day invitation-only event will bring together leaders from business, academia and government for a non-partisan discussion about the role of innovation in the U.S. economy’s recovery.
“We are honored to be a part of a great event with leaders from business, government and academia,” said Karl Gouverneur, chief technology officer of Northwestern Mutual. “Like many of the companies represented at the Summit, Northwestern Mutual understands the need to reinvent through innovation. The key is to push the boundaries of creative thinking to address some of the most pressing issues facing our country today.”
In addition to innovation, the Reinventing America Summit will explore topics including entrepreneurship, transportation, energy, the manufacturing and rail revolutions, the reinvention of finance and education, and keeping America competitive. On March 27, Gouverneur is presenting the Northwestern Mutual Excellence in Innovation award, an honor given to an individual and his or her firm that celebrates their work in pioneering new technologies or processes.
“Our biggest opportunity is innovation,” said Gouverneur. “Whether it is providing new financial products or using information technology to deliver a distinctive planning process and client experience, innovation is a core component of our success. We look to constantly push different perspectives to arrive at the right answer for our company and our clients.”
Beth Rodenhuis, senior vice president at Northwestern Mutual, will introduce the morning keynote discussion on March 27 called “The Promise of American Innovation.” It features Steve Forbes interviewing Bill Ford from Ford Motor Company who will discuss his vision for the future of the country seen through the lens of the company that started and defined America's last industrial revolution.
In 2013, Northwestern Mutual was recognized as one of the top innovative users of technology in the U.S., according to the InformationWeek 500, an annual list recognizing companies' innovative use of information technology. Northwestern Mutual was ranked No. 129 on the list.
About Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual has helped clients achieve financial security for 157 years. As a mutual company with $1.5 trillion of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual has no shareholders. The company focuses solely and directly on its clients and seeks to deliver consistent and dependable value to them over time.
Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI, and its subsidiaries. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a holistic approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, limited purpose federal savings bank; Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments.
About Forbes Media
Forbes Media LLC, publisher of Forbes magazine and forbes.com, is an authoritative source of news and information on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership and affluent lifestyles. Forbes.com, a leading business website, currently reaches 33 million monthly unique visitors across all platforms, according to comscore worldwide (January 2014). Forbes magazine, Forbes Asia and Forbes Europe attract a global audience of more than 5 million readers. The Forbes magazine iPad app merges the power of print storytelling with social sharing and the web. The Company also publishes ForbesLife magazine, as well as 33 licensed local editions around the world.
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