Dawn Wolfgram, CLF, is regional managing director at Principal Financial and the national president of Women in Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS), a key industry partner of NAIFA. She will also be the featured presenter at the August NAIFA Live event.

Wolfgram is an expert on change management, and she will provide tips and tricks to help financial professionals lead their teams in times of transition. Her presentation will include real-life examples and focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic has made mastering change-management skills essential to every professional.

As an industry leader, Wolfgram has seen firsthand how her company and others in the industry have adapted to COVID-19 disruptions.

“I think Principal has done a phenomenal job, I think our industry has done a phenomenal job, of really making sure that we're still accessible to our clients,” she said. “We're utilizing technology in a way that we never really had to before, but people still have needs. We've done a phenomenal job of really making sure that we're still serving the needs of our clients and that, that is not getting pushed to the side simply because we have to do work in a different way.”

The industry has managed the change well, and the change is likely to be long lasting. COVID-19 has gotten agents and advisors and their clients accustomed to holding virtual meetings and doing business online. It’s often more efficient for financial professionals and consumers and is one change that is likely to stick after the pandemic has passed, according to Wolfgram.

Wolfgram looks forward to participating in NAIFA Live and is a strong proponent of the WIFS-NAIFA partnership.

“I'm proud to serve for WIFS,” she said. “I've also been a NAIFA member for many, many years. Both are very near and dear to my heart, and I've always looked forward to their collaboration. I think working together is really important, especially in these times, because ultimately the members that we serve are the people out there in the communities, making a difference in people's lives.”

“We can provide them with the tools and the resources and the advocacy,” she added. “We can't do it alone, so the collaboration that we have with NAIFA and that NAIFA has with WIFS is really important.”

NAIFA Live is a virtual event available to NAIFA members only. If you are a NAIFA member, please register within our Members Portal in advance for the Aug. 13, 2 PM (EDT) program. If you are not a NAIFA member, join today to take full advantage of all of NAIFA’s benefits.