Inside the Strategy Room 121. MassMutual’s Roger Crandall on disrupting your own industry
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Jun 16, 2022 
Roger Crandall, CEO of MassMutual, a leader who steered the insurer through major digital and structural change. He discusses how disruption is reshaping underwriting, the rise of digital platforms and Haven Technologies, why mutual ownership supports long horizons, and how incumbents use decades of data while startups push rapid innovation.
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Insurance Is The Economy's Invisible Backbone
- Insurance underpins virtually all commerce, from devices to food, by pooling risk across many people.
- Roger Crandall frames life insurance as managing mortality, morbidity, and longevity risks amid pandemic, geopolitical and inflation shocks.
Mutual Structure Enables Long Term Choices
- Mutual ownership lets MassMutual think long-term because policyholders, not external shareholders, drive decisions.
- Crandall says that removes pressure for short-term capital returns and enables investing in long-payoff initiatives.
Build A Clear Public View On Purpose And Values
- CEOs must develop public, consistent views on social and ESG issues because employees, customers and regulators demand them.
- Crandall advises aligning mission, values, and actions to avoid reputational risk in real-time social media era.