The NAIFA Board of Trustees has announced that CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, has agreed to a five-year contract extension and will continue in his role as the association’s chief executive.

Mayeux became CEO in July 2015. Under his leadership, NAIFA created, implemented, and executed its NAIFA 20/20 strategic plan, which reinvigorated the now 131-year-old organization as a modernized, nimble, growth-focused association and cemented its status as the largest and most influential membership association for insurance and financial services professionals in the United States. NAIFA has transformed from a federation of more than 600 distinct legal and financial entities into NAIFA Nation, consisting of a home office and 50 state and 35 large metropolitan chapters. The move to restructure the association was adopted by membership vote in May 2018. The new streamlined structure went into effect January 1, 2019, allowing NAIFA to better mobilize its grassroots program for federal, interstate, and state advocacy efforts.

The NAIFA 20/20 plan successfully concluded at the end of last year. Mayeux served as a driving force behind the new NAIFA 2025 Strategic Plan that creates a roadmap for the association over the next five years. The plan sets objectives and desired outcomes designed to grow NAIFA’s membership; amplify the NAIFA brand among members, prospective members, industry partners, policymakers, the media, and consumers; and continue the improvement of the NAIFA membership experience. Mayeux and senior NAIFA staff developed a Business Implementation Plan for 2021 and have begun executing tactics to bring NAIFA 2025 goals to fruition.

“NAIFA is in its strongest financial position in many years. We are poised for a very bright future, largely due to the leadership of Kevin Mayeux over the past five years,” said NAIFA President Tom Michel, LACP. “Our financial situation is solid, we are experiencing positive trends in membership, and we have truly come together as a unified association, which has been Kevin’s vision since he began as CEO. Kevin has been a leader of incredible change over the last five years that has included organizational restructuring, personnel changes, complete technological infrastructure upgrades, and overhauling NAIFA’s brand. Now that we have secured Kevin’s continued leadership, we are situated for sustained growth.”

Under Mayeux’s leadership, NAIFA was well-prepared when faced with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and made necessary adjustments to programming, resources, and events to continue serving NAIFA members, the wider community of agents and advisors, and the insurance and financial services industry. NAIFA’s Town Halls, which began just days after much of the country went into lockdown, provided valuable content, access to the expertise and advice of industry thought leaders, and a sense of community that helped unite the industry. Mayeux urged NAIFA members to confront the crisis and safely connect with clients and consumers in need of reassurance and assistance with increased insurance and financial services needs brought on by the pandemic.

NAIFA has continued its long record of political advocacy success under Mayeux’s tenure as CEO and expanded state-level government relations and policy work. NAIFA’s grassroots and lobbying resulted in numerous positive changes to the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, and when the final rule continued to threaten the businesses of insurance and financial professionals and the ability of Main Street USA consumers to get products, services, and advice, NAIFA was a party to the lawsuit that eventually saw the rule struck down by a federal court. NAIFA was instrumental in the passage of the SECURE Act, which benefits small businesses and promotes retirement savings. It has partnered with the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) to encourage adoption by every state of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC’s) model rule for annuity transactions, which enhances consumer protections by requiring advisors to work in the best interests of their clients and maintains the ability of advisors to serve their clients.

Mayeux has built and enhanced relationships and partnerships between NAIFA and other organizations, such as ACLI, as well as insurance companies and financial institutions. His work with other CEOs has strengthened the industry to benefit agents and advisors and the consumers they serve. NAIFA’s Centers for Excellence, which offer content and expertise that promote exceptional performance by financial professionals, are his brainchild. Mayeux has emerged as an industry thought leader, speaking to industry groups, participating in expert panels, and testifying before policymakers.

“It’s been an honor to serve as NAIFA’s CEO for the past five years, and I am energized to continue our progress over the next five,” Mayeux said. “We have put the necessary work in to modernize our association and now our focus is telling our story. NAIFA’s success is crucial to the success of insurance and financial services professionals, who are the lifeblood of our industry and are working directly with Main Street consumers to ensure all Americans have opportunities attain financial security and achieve their financial goals. I am grateful to Tom Michel and the NAIFA Board of Trustees for their faith in me and NAIFA’s staff and for the opportunity to continue the great work we have started.”