AUG 5, 2014 PROGRAM:
What Has Worked for Me
Bob Senkler, Chairman and CEO of Securian Financial Group, will be giving a speech entitled "What Has Worked for Me." This speech is one that Bob shares with Securian interns and it is about being a skill collector. One of the keys to Bob’s success has been his strong belief in being a skill collector and willingness to ask others for help. His ability as a sought-after speaker is a good example. Early in his career, Bob was afraid of public speaking, and one of his mentors encouraged him to broaden his skill set. So Bob helped start the Company’s first Toastmasters group in 1975 and began to develop his speaking abilities.
“Five years of Toastmasters, four speech coaches and one thousand speeches later, I was a natural,” Bob says. “On the personal side, it’s my most significant accomplishment.”
In Bob’s view, business success also includes strong community involvement. His own community service got an early start when he volunteered as a Big Brother in college and later served as a Boy Scout Leader. As CEO, he’s held a variety of leadership roles with Twin Cities community organizations including Minnesota Business Partnership, Capital City Partnership, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and the Central Corridor Light Rail.
This year Senkler has achieved two impressive career milestones: he celebrated his 40th anniversary with Securian and his 20th Anniversary as its CEO.
As Chairman and CEO Bob plays a leading role in shaping the overall organization’s strategy and maintaining its financial strength. Securian consistently ranks among the top 20 most highly rated life insurance companies in the nation, and is the 14th largest as measured by insurance in force.
Bob is one of the Distinguished Alumni of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He obtained his bachelor of arts in Mathematics and Statistics and has been recognized as one of the “Top 50 Bulldogs.” He became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1979.
Recently, Bob announced that he will be retiring as CEO at the end of this year. He will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.