Good morning. Betsy Ward, CFO of MassMutual, will retire at the end of this year. Looking back on her 30-year career at the insurance giant, which saw her become the firm’s first female CFO, Ward shared insight on achieving longevity at one company.
Her first piece of advice—make it known that you are ready and willing to take on new challenges.
“I do think it’s important that people understand your intellectual curiosity, your energy and passion, your broader interests, and that you aren’t just in love with what you do now,” Ward explained. Your manager may not always ask you where you want to take your career, she said. “You have to let it be known.”
A strategic CFO
The University of Rochester, where Ward earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and Spanish, was a catalyst for her strategic thinking skills. She recalled one particular assignment when an economics professor instructed students to write a letter to the editor of a popular financial publication, like Fortune, she said. Her strategic mindset later propelled her into a long-term career at a Fortune 500 company where she has made a big impact.
Ward played a key role in leading MassMutual through “unprecedented growth” and she was a “driving force across multiple transformative transactions,” CEO Roger Crandall said in a statement last month. That includes a modernization of the company’s finance processes.
For 2023, MassMutual reported $39 billion in sales from its domestic insurance operations. Meanwhile, the popularity of its wealth management solutions saw total client assets grow to $245 billion. The company announced in March that it topped $1 trillion of protection for its life insurance policy owners. MassMutual, No. 102 in the Fortune 500 moved up two spots this year. The company has earned a spot on the list for the past 30 years.
Ward was promoted to CFO in 2016 after serving in several leadership positions. “I kind of had three careers at one company—working in investment management, risk management, and as CFO in finance,” she said.
As the chief enterprise risk officer during the global financial crisis that began in late 2007, Ward worked closely with Michael Rollings, the chief financial officer at the time. “At one point, he asked me, ‘Do you want to be CFO?’” Ward recalled. “I said, ‘Well, I’m not an accountant.’”
But when he emphasized the strategic part of the role, it became more attractive and interesting to Ward. “I was aware that he put me on his succession planning list,” she said.
Upon Ward’s retirement, Mary Jane (MJ) Fortin will succeed her as CFO, on Jan. 1. Fortin was previously the president and chief commercial officer at Thrivent Financial.
The next chapter
I asked Ward to share one of the best pieces of career advice she’s ever received. “It isn’t just about outperforming,” Ward said. “It’s also about networking and thinking about what’s next for you, picking and owning your development plan.”
And speaking of what’s next, I asked Ward what she’s looking forward to in retirement. She will pursue board work to feed her intellectual curiosity, she said. Also at the top of her list is spending more time with family and traveling.
“I have a number of trips planned that include sailing and cycling,” Ward said.
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Some notable moves this week:
Cristina Gallo-Aquino was promoted to EVP and CFO of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) a transportation and logistics company, effective Jan. 1. Gallo-Aquino is currently SVP, controller, and principal accounting officer. She will succeed current CFO John J. Diez, who was promoted to president and chief operating officer. Gallo-Aquino joined Ryder in 2004. She was previously the VP and CFO for the company’s fleet management solutions business unit and VP and corporate controller.
Scott Schenkel was appointed CFO at Expedia Group (Nasdaq: EXPE), an online travel company. As previously announced, Julie Whalen will remain in the CFO role through February for a transition process. Schenkel most recently served as the interim CEO of eBay Inc., and previously its SVP and CFO. Before that, he was SVP and CFO of eBay Marketplace. Schenkel also spent nearly 17 years at General Electric in a variety of financial leadership roles.
Ashima Ghei was appointed CFO of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR), effective immediately. Ghei has led Broadridge’s global finance team as interim CFO since July 1. She joined Broadridge in January 2022 as CFO of Broadridge’s Investor Communications business. Ghei also played a leadership role in shaping the future of Broadridge’s Governance business.
Mark Hirschhorn, CFO at Amwell (NYSE: AMWL) a telehealth provider, will take on an expanded role as chief operating officer, effective Jan. 1. Hirschhorn will now oversee the company's operational and growth strategies, including the clinical, sales and marketing teams while continuing his responsibilities as CFO. Current Chief Operating Officer Kurt Knight will depart Amwell at the end of the year.
Hao Qian, CFO of MoneyHero Limited (Nasdaq: MNY), a personal finance aggregation and comparison platform, has resigned, effective Dec. 15. Danny Leung, the company’s group finance director, was appointed interim CFO. A senior finance and accounting executive with more than two decades of experience across growth-stage businesses, Leung joined MoneyHero in 2024.
David DeLucia was promoted to CFO of FibroGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: FGEN), a biopharmaceutical company, effective Dec. 16. The company previously announced that Juan Graham would step down on Dec. 15. DeLucia most recently served as FibroGen’s VP, head of corporate financial planning and analysis (FP&A), investor relations, and treasury.
Peter Fishman was appointed as CFO of Amarin Corporation plc (Nasdaq: AMRN), a pharmaceutical company, effective immediately. Most recently, Fishman served as the company’s global controller and principal financial and accounting officer. He has nearly 20 years of experience in various finance areas including accounting, financial reporting, treasury, tax and audit as well as building and leading global finance teams.
Big Deal
S&P Global Market Intelligence research finds that operating expenses for U.S. investment-grade companies increased by more than $73 billion in Q3 of 2024. The total third-quarter operating expenses for these companies grew to $3.052 trillion. (U.S. companies with S&P Global Ratings' long-term credit ratings of BBB- or higher are considered investment-grade companies.)
Most of the 10 sectors in the survey reported an increase in operating expenses from the previous quarter. Only information technology, consumer staples, and communication services reported decreases, according to the report.
Going deeper
Here are four Fortune weekend reads:
“‘Higher-ups are in our pocket’ — An aviation giant with billions in military contracts admits to bribing officials in Nepal and South Africa” by Amanda Gerut
“Texas billionaires made a $200 million bet on a college football ‘laughingstock.’ It’s paying off with a championship run” by Greg McKenna
“Jeff Bezos saved around $1 billion in taxes by moving to a ‘billionaire bunker’ in Florida” by Alicia Adamczyk
“Elite runner and Peloton instructor Becs Gentry ran 7 marathons in 7 days across 7 continents. How she prepared for the grueling $50,000 challenge” by Alexa Mikhail
Overheard
“Not changing your job, but your job changing on you, is going to be a big theme for 2025.”
Daniel Shapero, LinkedIn’s chief operating officer, told Fortune in an interview. AI is poised to rapidly change the workplace in 2025. More than 10% of workers hired today have job titles that didn’t exist in 2000, according to LinkedIn research. Roles like “chief AI officer” became the hottest new title in the C-suite this year.
