Inside the $38 Billion Unstoppable Force: Northwestern Mutual

You probably know Northwestern Mutual as the iconic Milwaukee-based financial planning giant that holds a large annual meeting where people flock to our city from all over the country, or as the company that constructed a 32-story skyscraper downtown in 2017 right on the lakefront. 

That said, there is a lot about Northwestern Mutual you probably don’t know. 

Founded in 1857 in Janesville, Wisconsin, Northwestern Mutual barely survived its first two years in business after a passenger train and an ox collided outside of Johnson Creek, where 14 lives were lost, two of which were initial Northwestern Mutual policyholders. 

Shortly after, Northwestern Mutual moved its headquarters to Milwaukee and has been here ever since. But not only is Milwaukee home to the company’s sprawling campus, two significant network offices are located here as well.  

In this episode we give you a look inside Wisconsin’s largest company (ranking 110 on the Fortune 500 list) by revenue and what its future looks like.  Topics covered include: 

• Early beginnings and challenges 
• Pivotal moments in the company's history 
• The 2017 Tower & Commons decision 
• Inside Northwestern Mutual’s business model and its evolution 
  • Life insurance 
  • Additional insurance solutions 
  • Wealth management 
  • AI & Future Tech 
• Recent CEO transition 
• Building a culture to last 
• The annual meeting 
• Charitable impact 
• Financial advice 
• And the leaders will share their favorite places around Milwaukee 

This is a paid advertisement. As of 03/17/2025, Frank Di Meglio’s network office has approximately $7 billion in client assets consisting of advisory, retirement, brokerage, and annuity accounts. For representative and entity disclosures, please go to http://milwaukee.nm.com and floryjerezvillasenor.nm.com. For Northwestern Mutual company facts, please go here.