Being CEO with Evamarie Schoenborn

Join 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson and our guest Evamarie Schoenborn as they discuss the attributes of great leaders, the importance of growing and developing talent, the metrics most important to her as CEO, why technical competence is more important for leaders in certain industries than others, and the sacrifices necessary to be a CEO.

Evamarie has spent her entire career in financial services. She ascended from an entry level position at what is now Ameriprise Financial to the role of President and CEO of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. She is known for her approachability and listening skills, the ability to lead through difficult circumstances, her role in developing people, and a strong desire to create a sense of belonging wherever she goes. Evamarie believes the best leaders are empathetic, strategic, and decisive.

In this episode, Evamarie and Don talk about how those attributes of great leaders present themselves on a daily basis, they discuss how Evamarie honed her listening skills by emulating financial advisors with whom she worked, and she shares how she and her team led Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management through the pandemic. Evamarie describes her approach to talent management, assessment, and succession planning as CEO and she is candid about the challenges of being CEO, including the difficulty of transitioning into that role from another company. Evarmarie also talks about creating a sense of belonging across the entire organization, why she spent so much time on developing others, and she leaves us with her thoughts on what she would like her legacy as a leader to be.