BISA Portfolio Podcast
BISA Portfolio Podcast
What Brought Us Into Financial Services
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In this episode of the BISA Portfolio Podcast, guest host Jim Nickens of Swan Financial Group sits down with a group of BISA members to explore how real, often nontraditional, career journeys are shaping the future of financial services. Recorded live at the BISA Annual Conference in Tampa, the conversation features Ron Major (TruStage), Kylie Murray (Sammons Institutional Group), Vanessa Wilson (BMO), Heather Hepburn (Webster Investments), and Brett Carmichael (Nationwide) as they share the turning points that brought them into the industry and the lessons they want the next generation to hear.
Their stories highlight why embracing unexpected opportunities, investing in mentorship and widening the industry’s talent pipeline are critical for individual careers as well as for the long‑term health, diversity and resilience of institutions themselves. There is no single “right” way into financial services, only the willingness to learn and say yes when doors open.
Tune in to learn:
- How unconventional paths — like starting in broadcast journalism or aspiring to be a librarian — can lead to impactful careers in financial services when paired with curiosity and courage to try something new.
- Why mentorship and sponsorship were pivotal, and how leaders taking a chance on emerging talent can change the entire trajectory of a career.
- How representation and visibility influence who sees themselves in this business, and why fixing the “pipeline problem” starts with diverse leaders at senior and C‑suite levels.
- The soft skills that will define tomorrow’s top performers, especially emotional intelligence, adaptability, lifelong learning and integrity — and how young professionals can be intentional about building them.
- Practical advice from all five guests for students and early‑career professionals on networking with purpose, asking for opportunities and confidently articulating their goals inside their firms.
BISA is the leading financial services industry association dedicated to serving those responsible for the marketing, sales and distribution of securities, insurance and other financial products and advisory services through the bank channel.
Hello everyone, and welcome to this episode of The BISA Portfolio Podcast, recorded live at the Annual Conference in Tampa. I'm Jim Nickens, guest host for this episode. I will be asking attendees here at the Annual Conference how they found a way into the industry, moments that have shaped their careers and advice they have for the incoming generation. To start us off, I'd like to share a bit of my background. I spent over 30 years working within banks and distribution partners holding leadership positions at a few of our member firms, including Fifth Third securities, Next City Investments, which is now PNC, Key Investment Services and most recently with Insource, I recently founded Swan Financial Group, a boutique consulting firm dedicated to assisting financial institutions and carriers in developing smarter, more efficient processes to foster growth. As a longtime member of the BISA, including serving as the past chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, which is now the Impact and Vision Committee, and also the proud father of a daughter that is in our industry, today's conversation holds particular significance for me. This episode came about through an idea from Vanessa Wilson on our Black Voices Unmuted meeting call. You'll hear a few of my colleagues from this group today, as well as others we've roped into joining us. Last night, we had a great time connecting at our Nightcap event, and I hope many of our listeners attended. Before we get started with our first guest. I want to encourage you to please subscribe to this podcast on the app you're listening to now, and if you enjoyed, please share it with your network. So let's get us started. Ron, can you introduce yourself, and then we'll start off with our first question for you today.
Ron Major:Sounds good, Jim, and thanks for having me. I'm excited to be a part of this podcast. My name is Ron Major. I am a national account manager with Truestage, which is an insurance company that's based in Madison, Wisconsin. I've been with Truestage for five years. Before that, my career was with Lincoln Financial, __ Asset Management and Delaware Investments. So that's a little bit background of my history, my work history.
Jim Nickens:Well, that's great, Ron. And once again, thank you for joining us.
Ron Major:Absolutely, thanks for having me.
Jim Nickens:I have a quick question for you: Tell us about your career journey. So we're gonna start with a light one, and then, how did you end up in the industry?
Ron Major:So I went to Penn State, and my career, what I majored in, was broadcast and journalism. I was really trying to get into the television field, doing producing and things like that. But actually, outside of college, trying to find roles with different TV stations, a friend of mine came to me with an opportunity for a small brokerage firm called JW Gant, and that was out of Maryland, so that was a firm that just did the speculative penny stocks. We actually broke out phone books and called people at home through a phone book. And so you can imagine, it didn't last long, right? So I thought, no, is this financial services? Because if this is what it is, I want no part in it. I kind of backed away from it and got out of that after only about a year. I went into another field, and then another friend approached me about an opportunity with Delaware Investments. And that's where my career journey started in financial services, is working with Delaware investments, so it's kind of a roundabout way that I got into this industry, but it's been a great track since I've been here.
Jim Nickens:Ron, that's fascinating, and thank you for sharing. If I could ask you one more question, what lessons have you learned on your way to who you are today?
Ron Major:Sure, you know the best lesson I learned is to not be afraid of the unknown. And what I mean by that is, there have been times in my career before I learned this lesson that maybe an opportunity came about, and I was like, 'You know what, I don't have a lot of background in it. I don't have a lot of knowledge about that,' so I would shy away from it and not take that opportunity, and there would be some regret about it once I learned you know what, just dive in. Some of the best advice I got was from an old coworker that said, 'I always be able to see you here on the floor at the BISA Annual took the opportunities nobody else wanted to take,' and it always shaped how I focused on my career going forward from that lesson learned from him, because, you know, you just never know where it's going to take you. And from then on, I've gotten so many opportunities. It's just by having that mindset. And it's not even just in your professional life, but Well, that's very sage advice, and thank you, Ron, for sharing in your personal life; I picked up golf a couple years ago, like things I didn't think I would start doing because I just felt like, 'Ah, it's too late. I didn't start this early enough.' So just don't be afraid of the unknown. Take chances and you'll see great results from that usually. that with everyone on the BISA Podcast. I appreciate it. Conference for our listeners today, could you just do a quick introduction? Share who you are and where you work?
Kylie Murray:Absolutely. Thanks for having me. I am Kylie Murray, director of practice management consulting and strategy at Sammons Institutional Group.
Jim Nickens:Well, that's great, and once again, thank you. Could you do us a favor and just tell us about your journey in the business and how you end up in the industry?
Kylie Murray:I absolutely can. One thing I will tell you is my route has been very unconventional. I started out wanting to be a librarian when I went to college, and my mom told me my voice was too loud for the library. So what I found out when I got home from graduation was she had set me up with an interview at an insurance company in good old Des Moines, Iowa, and that is how I got here today.
Jim Nickens:That might be the most unique story we're going to hear today. Mind if I ask you one more question? In your career, what was the defining moment or decision that shaped your career path?
Kylie Murray:I would say the biggest defining moment is having the best women in this business take a chance on me. They gave me the opportunity to join not only a marketing team, but then an external sales team, and then got me the job that I have today, being a practice management professional and sharing what I actually love every single day in this business.
Jim Nickens:Well, that is fantastic, and I know other people will take your journey and maybe add it to their experience. So thank you for joining us today. We're joined by the Vanessa Wilson. As you may remember, it was her idea from the Black Voices Unmuted meeting call that got us to this podcast today. Vanessa, could you just give us a quick introduction and tell us a little more about yourself?
Vanessa Wilson:Sure, Jim, thank you so much for recognition. I do appreciate it. My name is Vanessa Wilson. I'm with BMO bank. I've been with BMO for nine years. I have been in the insurance and annuity industry for 30 years, and I think it was a great career choice, although I didn't choose it, it chose me.
Jim Nickens:Well, I really want to hear more. Can I ask you a question or two? What's one lesson you've learned along the way that you wish you would have known earlier?
Vanessa Wilson:To take full advantage of the opportunities and resources along the way, which includes training and education, showing up fully during performance reviews, and networking intentionally to meet the people that matter and encourage you along the way.
Jim Nickens:Well, that's great, and that networking piece makes a lot of sense about where we are here today at the BISA Annual Conference. One more question with your experience: What does representation mean to you?
Vanessa Wilson:Representation in financial services carries several interconnected meanings. At its core, representation means having people who look like you, share your experiences or understand your community and positions of influence, not just in entry level roles, but in leadership on boards, managing significant assets and settling strategy. So why does that matter? Specifically in financial services, it determines who gets served financial services in historically underserved Black, Latino and minority communities. The challenges of redlining, discriminatory lending practices and predatory products weren't accidents, they were designed. When advisors and underwriters as well as executives reflect the communities they serve, product design, outreach and trust are much more improved. And who gets hired and promoted in those spaces? The industry has a well documented pipeline problem. Diverse candidates enter but don't advance at the same rates. True representation means closing the gap at the senior and C suite levels, not just in recruiting brochures.
Jim Nickens:Thank you, Vanessa. I hope everyone's listening to those true words. And importantly, thank you for leading up to be BVU subcommittee.
Vanessa Wilson:Thank you for having me. I'm sure you guys will take the challenge and move the ball forward.
Jim Nickens:We're joined by Heather Hepburn. Heather, could you take a few moments and introduce yourself to our listeners?
Heather Hepburn:Sure, Jim, and thank you for having me this afternoon. My name is Heather Hepburn. I work at Webster investments as a managing director in the wealth management operations department.
Jim Nickens:Thank you for joining us today. Would you mind if we ask you a few questions?First one will be, tell us about your career journey. How did you end up in the industry?
Heather Hepburn:Well, it's kind of a long story. I started working at a local bank at a very early age. I worked as an assistant, and I supported three or four managers. Did that for a few years that I got promoted to managing those people. I also managed my manager, which, as you can imagine, was a little uncomfortable. But then after a couple years, I went over and spoke to our brokerage manager and asked if there were any other opportunities in the brokerage industry in that department at that time; he agreed that he would take a chance on me. He gave me an opportunity. The first thing he said to me was, come over. I will teach you the ropes so that you can go out and make a lot of money. And that's what led me here to this position. It just took one manager to take a chance on me, show me the ropes, told me all the licenses that I needed to get, and it was on me to me to take advantage of those opportunities and get all my securities licenses.
Jim Nickens:That's great, Heather, and thank you for sharing. Let's take it one step further. Could you just continue the conversation and share what advice would you give to the next generation?
Heather Hepburn:The first thing that I would say is don't hesitate to ask questions or seek support. When a senior leader says that they're happy to speak to you at any time, don't be afraid to take them up on that opportunity, because you may think that they don't want to speak with you, but they're always open to speaking with you, so take advantage of that. Go in. Be prepared. Ask questions. Don't shy away from asking the thoughtful, in-depth questions. You may be surprised by how open, honest and insightful these discussions can be also be confident in expressing your goals and aspirations. When leaders understand what you're working towards, they are far more likely to keep you in mind when new opportunities arise.
Jim Nickens:Thank you, Heather, and thank you for sharing a piece of yourself and a piece of your journey with us at BISA, and we'll hope to talk to you later in the conference. Thank you, Jim. We're forward to that. Brett Carmichael is joining us. Brett, will you take a few moments and introduce yourself to our listeners?
Brett Carmichael:Thanks, Jim. I really appreciate the opportunity. Definitely glad to be here at BISA's Annual Conference. So I am in year six, executive at Nationwide, that leads our national account team for our annuity distribution. So we do about, my team's responsible for about 14 billion in annuities, on helping enable and accelerate the business.
Jim Nickens:It's great, and thanks again for joining us. You have time for a few questions? Brett, what surprised you most about your career so far?
Brett Carmichael:I think the thing that surprised me most was all of the gratuitous ___ that I got in my career. And that's not to say that, you know, every job you have to kill it. I mean, first and foremost, your own personal success is important. But then secondary, I think your network. So you know, if you separate those two words, "net." Are you casting a big enough net? Are you out there, branching, meeting people, and then is it "working" for you in the way that you want it to? So I think having that intentionality and being very prescriptive about what you want and where you want to go, and being vocal about it, because that was one thing from my mom growing up that she always told my sister and I is that 'closed mouths don't get fed,' and so intentionality vocalizing what you want, killing it at your job and then casting a big enough network that can work for you and work with you.
Jim Nickens:Thank you, Brett, and thank you for taking the path and clarifying how you view the business. So we've had these conversations in the past. But could you share with our listeners? What advice do you have for the next generation?
Brett Carmichael:All right, so for the next generation? I think I touched on it before, but you know, closed mouths don't get fed. I think is one big mantra from that. But I will say additionally to that, I think having high emotional intelligence. So you think about things like self management skills, social and self awareness, and then also relationship management. And if you do all of those things, or work on and hone in on all those things, you can be very, very successful in our business. And that would be the biggest advice that I could get to the next generation. The other things that I'll say is, you know, embracing adaptability and lifelong learning. So the landscape rapidly changes in this industry. So you have to be nimble. You have to be flexible. I think focusing on human connection and empathy. So while technology is essential, success relies on building strong, trusting relationships and fostering corroboration. The other thing I think about is we have to be resilient, and so that was one thing that I wish that I learned even earlier, is that you have to view challenges as opportunities. And as I've gotten older, I've become very solutions-focused, so there's never a problem. I think of it as an opportunity. And more importantly, how can I solve it? The other thing, I think, is true ownership mentality, and then self accountability and being able to hold others accountable, that's something else. And then the last thing I'll say is just act with purpose and integrity. I mean, if you lead with purpose and understand what your why is, and your elevator pitch, and then also just being a person, trustworthy person, it will take you very, very far in this industry.
Jim Nickens:Well, thank you, Brett. Thank you for sharing that advice that could be shared with the next generation. I'd like to thank everyone who joined us today for this great episode. If you have a story to share, please tag BISA and myself. And again, I encourage everyone to listen to and subscribe to the portfolio podcast on your favorite app. Until next time. I'm Jim Nickens.