Christina Speck
Head of Client Lab at MassMutual
My current job in the retirement industry involves … building and growing the industry’s first participant and sponsor-based Innovation Lab. I love the retirement industry because at it’s core it’s about helping people to be financially secure and well.
How do you see WIPN affecting positive change in your career or industry? I think WIPN brings the N in Network to life. For example, it was on a WIPN call that my Mind Maps series was born. I realized that there were so many talented women and it was part of my motivation to start Mind Maps and highlight the power of women in the workplace.
Prior to joining WIPN, how difficult or easy was it to find networking opportunities in the retirement industry? To paraphrase William Woodsworth, I wandered lonely as a cloud … till I found WIPN! WIPN has been instrumental in helping me make connections, some of whom have become friends. As an industry outsider, I credit WIPN with helping me feel at home in the retirement industry.
Tell us about a WIPN-inspired success story that influenced your personal or professional career. I mentioned my blog, innovationhacks.org at a WIPN chapter meeting and ever since then I have been awe-inspired by the outreach and support I have gotten from WIPN members. The last Mind Maps post featuring fellow WIPN member, Sara Carvalho and it received over 2K views on LinkedIn and had about 40 comments – I think this is partly thanks to the enthusiasm of WIPN members.
How important is it for you to be a role model for the upcoming generations of women in the retirement industry? Is WIPN a force for change? I like to think of myself as a promoter of women and women’s causes. And, when you do that, hopefully it drives change. To tweak an oft repeated quote: “If you empower a man, you empower one person. If you empower a woman, you empower a nation”.
My favorite quote is … “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better” by Maya Angelou because life happens.
Sara Carvalho, CPFA®, CHSA®
Senior Consultant
MMA Retirement Services
I love the retirement industry because … I enjoy helping people and being a trusted partner to my clients. I love working with plan sponsors to design their retirement plans so their participants may have a dignified retirement.
Prior to joining WIPN, how difficult or easy was it to find networking/mentoring opportunities in the retirement industry? In my 20+ years in the retirement industry, I have been fortunate to be involved in formal mentoring programs however they were not always within the retirement industry. WIPN is uniquely positioned to offer both!
My first job in the retirement industry was an … as an annuity phone representative (a right of passage really) and my current job involves consulting with senior executives to provide investment management and fiduciary oversight for their retirement plans.
I first learned about WIPN … from a former colleague and the best things about being involved in WIPN are the career workshops and wellbeing events. I found the ‘Influencing Across Distance’ with Sacha Connor webinar to be extremely valuable given the virtual environment.
How do you see WIPN affecting positive change in your career or industry? The WIPN community is a fantastic forum for industry veterans as well as newcomers to share ideas and network. The WIPN community fostered the development of a co-sponsored WIPN/MMA event in 2019. Most recently, I was thrilled to collaborate with fellow WIPN member Christina Speak on her creative and innovative Mind Maps series!
My favorite quote is … “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position” by Brian Tracy because we are all leaders.
