Building A Technology-Enabled Foundation With Jeff Hughes, Chief Technology Officer At Brighthouse Financial Life Accelerated podcast

Building a Technology-Enabled Foundation with Jeff Hughes, Chief Technology Officer at Brighthouse Financial

1y ago 29:44

Content provided by Equisoft + Insurance Innovation Reporter and Insurance Innovation Reporter + Equisoft. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Equisoft + Insurance Innovation Reporter and Insurance Innovation Reporter + Equisoft or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

Special guest, Jeff Hughes, the Chief Technology Officer of Brighthouse Financial, takes us on a journey through the past five years of his professional life, where he played a pivotal role in successfully transitioning Brighthouse Financial to a new foundation. With over 200 transition services agreements and 100 programs and initiatives to navigate, Jeff and his team faced numerous challenges, but ultimately emerged victorious in their quest.

On this episode of Life Accelerated, Jeff Hughes shares about the company's successful transition to a new foundation that involved exiting hundreds of agreements and initiatives. Jeff emphasizes the importance of a modern ecosystem in technology, particularly in terms of shifting from Capex to Opex in the transformation to SaaS and cloud technologies and how Brighthouse pursued this path and completed the transition to a 100% cloud-based and 90% software as a service environment. The company wants to be a best in cost company and heavily leverages third parties for technology-enabled business functions rather than outsourcing existing jobs.

Key Takeaways

Adaptability and strategic planning is key. This highlights the importance of adaptability and strategic planning during major transitions.
Focus on driving growth and improving the advisor experience. This emphasizes the significance of customer-centricity and innovation in staying competitive in the industry.
Build a technology-enabled foundation. This showcases the importance of modern technology infrastructure and the strategic use of resources to enable cost-effectiveness and flexibility.

Timestamps

[00:00 - 06:10] Introduction to Jeff Hughes and Brighthouse Financial

[06:10 - 08:26] What Jeff has been hired to accomplish at a strategic level

[08:26 - 10:27] Brighthouse Financial’s transition approach and how it differs from others

[10:27 - 12:39] Critical decisions Brighthouse Financial made in 2017 for digital transformation

[12:39 - 15:37] The principals that Jeff and Brighthouse Financial created when given the warrant to create new systems

[15:37 - 17:55] The essential initiatives Brighthouse Financial developed to develop their own business ecosystem

[17:55 - 20:54] What Brighthouse Financial’s initiatives meant for digital transformation

[20:54 - 23:04] What Jeff and Brighthouse Financial’s three indispensable digital initiatives are

[23:04 - 25:47] How Jeff would describe his management style and how he attracts and retains top talent

[25:47 - 28:06] Areas where Jeff sees the controversial wisdom leading insurance

[28:06 - 29:43] Closing

Resources

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffchughes/

Learn more about Brighthouse Financial https://www.brighthousefinancial.com/

41 episodes

Key Takeaways

Adaptability and strategic planning is key. This highlights the importance of adaptability and strategic planning during major transitions.
Focus on driving growth and improving the advisor experience. This emphasizes the significance of customer-centricity and innovation in staying competitive in the industry.
Build a technology-enabled foundation. This showcases the importance of modern technology infrastructure and the strategic use of resources to enable cost-effectiveness and flexibility.