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A real blue chipper In 1851, George W. Rice left his job at Connecticut Mutual to form an insurance company based in his home of Springfield, MA. A century and a half later, the company that Rice founded, MassMutual, merged with the company that he left. The integration of MassMutual and Connecticut Mutual was successfully completed in 1996 in what remains the single largest merger between mutual life insurance companies. The huge entity was named "MassMutual - The Blue Chip Company" and was one of the top-10 life insurers in the United States. With assets of over $50 billion, the big Blue Chip competed more or less successfully in an era of consolidation between banks, brokerage houses, and insurance companies. Turning the ship around MassMutual has made some significant changes. Ever since naming its new CEO, Robert J. O'Connell, in December 1999, the insurance giant had been casting about for ways to reinvent itself. For one, O'Connell seriously turned the company, now owned by policy-holders, into a mutual holding company that issued stock. In 1998, the company nearly agreed to a merger with Northwest Mutual Life, a deal that ultimately fell through. In February 2000, the company changed its name from MassMutual Life Insurance Co. to MassMutual Financial Group in an effort to change the public perception of the company. Looking south MassMutual's investment group offers a wide range of financial services to individual and corporate investors. MML Investment consists of the company's securities and real estate division; and the Oppenheimer Funds manage over $42 billion in mutual funds. In 1995, MassMutual acquired David L. Babson & Co., a Cambridge-based investment firm that is among the nation's oldest. While MassMutual is still firmly rooted in its New England tradition, it is looking further afield for expansion. The company has also established life insurance companies in Chile, Argentina, Bermuda, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong, and it is expected to engage in further ventures in Latin America.
MassMutual divides its career opportunities into three areas: agencies, information systems, and business. Company agents are independent business people licensed to sell the company's insurance and financial services. Information systems employees manage the vast amounts of data crucial to the insurance industry. And business employees usually begin working in the company's headquarters in Springfield, MA. MassMutual's career Web page, located at www.massmutual.com/career/career.htm, provides information on each of the three areas, including degree requirements for specific positions. The company accepts resumes by both regular mail and e-mail. Interested parties should consult the Web site for departmental addresses.
"Tiffany of the insurance industry" Insiders call MassMutual the "Tiffany of the insurance industry" and point to its "sparkling" reputation both within the insurance industry and outside. A "people-oriented" company, MassMutual's "deep and genuine" dedication to its policyholders carries over to the treatment of its employees. Working parents praise policies such as "flexible scheduling options," "child care subsidies," and "tuition reimbursement for employees' children." Explains one insider, "we have a fitness center, dry cleaner, store with cards and gifts, video rentals, shoe repair service, and barber shop." He continues, "you can even even get take-out meals to bring home for dinner if you're too tired to cook. The cafeteria is also great. It's run by Marriott, so it's a little like going to a restaurant every day." A little scary for the old-timers Informants feel that MassMutual's recent organizational changes have made it not just "larger," but also "a better place to work." "Right now we're in the process of a big change," says one source. "In the past, I would have described MasMutual as very conservative, traditional, and kind of slow. But the new CEO has very different ideas. He's not big on hierarchy and feels everyone should be involved and proactive in decision-making. I think it's a little scary to some of the old-timers, but most of us are very excited by the changes." Impossible eight years ago Changes are also afoot concerning equal representation. "The company is very committed to diversity," opines a contact. "There's even a very active gay and lesbian group, which would have been impossible at this company eight or 10 years ago. Like most insurance companies, there are still a lot of old white male faces at the top, but that's changing too."
Susan A. Alfano Human Resources
Insurance;Securities;Pension plans;Benefits management
New York Life;Northwestern Mutual;Prudential Insurance More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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