Page 27 - Demo CEOs of the Fortune 500

Key Challenges
• Layoffs: MassMutual announced to employees that the company will undergo layoffs, MassLive reported in April 2017. MassMutual spokesman James Lacey said about 1% of total employees across five locations - including Springfield, Enfield and employees who work from home - will be affected. The layoffs are across a number of departments as part of a restructuring plan. More than 7,000 people are employed at the company. "As a normal course of doing business, we continually evaluate our operations to ensure we are working efficiently, competing effectively, and delivering the best experience and greatest value to our customers," Lacey said in a statement. "This means that we are constantly growing and investing in some areas while at the same time streamlining and driving greater efficiencies in others where it makes strategic sense." These layoffs follow the decision in 2016 to outsource part of the insurance giant's information technology functions. Close to 100 employees were laid off from the company's headquarters in Springfield last April. At the time, MassMutual spokesman James Lacey responded to questions by saying only that the IT vendor is a company that MassMutual has had a long business relationship with and that it is a U.S.-based company, but one with operations worldwide.
• Earnings Decline for 2016: Lower investment yields and the cost of buying MetLife's distribution network of life insurance salespeople cut into MassMutual's earnings last year despite record sales, according to a February 2017 earnings report, MassLive reported. MassMutual said its net gain from operations before policy owner dividends and taxes - the company's primary earnings measure as a mutual company - was $1.6 billion, compared to $2.1 billion in 2015. This result and the year-over-year decline in statutory net income to $70 million are attributed primarily to both the cost associated with the acquisition of MetLife Premier Client Group in February of 2016 for $165 million and to lower investment yields, according to the release. It was the 11th consecutive year of record sales of whole life insurance at MassMutual. For the year ended December 31, sales of whole life insurance, MassMutual's signature product, were $657 million, up 35% from 2015. Total sales of life insurance, not just whole life policies, were $709 million, up 28% over 2015. This was the the fifth straight year total life insurance sales reached an all-time high. Sales of retirement plans climbed 15% to $11.4 billion, reaching a record level for the fourth consecutive year. In February of this year, MassMutual bought MetLife's retail adviser force of life insurance agents for $165 million. MassMutal called the purchase a "milestone event" in its history, which dates back to 1851. "In a year marked by global instability and market volatility, MassMutual delivered strong results across our businesses," said Crandall in a prepared statement. "More importantly, because of the rampant lack of financial preparedness facing many Americans, our focus is to reach as many people as possible and provide them with more holistic financial solutions. We are as strongly positioned as ever to help millions more achieve the financial well-being needed to build a more confident financial future." In November, MassMutual approved an estimated 2017 dividend payout for participating policy owners of $1.6 billion. The 2017 payout reflects a dividend interest rate of 6.7% for eligible participating life insurance policies, highest among the company's mutual competitors. Two key measures of financial strength - statutory surplus and total adjusted capital - remained at high levels, $15.4 billion and $17.3 billion, respectively, MassMutual said. MassMutual's revenue was $29.6 billion, up from 2015 when it was $29.5 billion, and $26.4 billion in 2014.
Biographical Highlights
• Born circa 1966.
• Crandall earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Vermont, which
he attended from 1983 until 1987, and an MBA (with honors) from the Wharton School of Business
at the University of Pennsylvania (2000-2002).
• He also is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
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