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The Ridgeback Group and Allianz Life join forces

The Ridgeback Group and Allianz Life join forces

Working together to make an impact for your business

by Lewis O'Connor

Overview

This relationship brings together two organizations that love to swim against convention and are immune to the sea of sameness found all too often in our industry. The Ridgeback Group and Allianz Life are motivated by a mutual commitment to serving producers and driving growth within their businesses. Innovation through technology and forward-thinking opportunities will be key components of this partnership.

At the heart of any relationship-driven business are a few special partnerships — true alliances where both parties push each other, strengthen each other, and help each other reach new heights. At The Ridgeback Group, we also want partners who align with our values and desire to swim against convention and challenge the status quo. With Allianz Life, we’ve found a perfect match.

Allianz Life is a leading provider of financial and retirement solutions and a much-respected innovator in our field. Like us, Allianz Life is intrepid, courageous, entrepreneurial, and culturally aligned.

During a recent conversation between our teams, we candidly discussed a lot of what was important about this partnership and how it will positively impact producers. It was a great chat. We’re sorry you couldn’t be there. Which is why we went ahead and pulled together some of the highlights to share with you.

 

 

 

Who’s Who

 

Crystal Quicano: Ridgeback’s Head of Firm Experience and quite the kickboxer. Seriously, don’t try her.

Cole Porter: Firm Partner at Ridgeback and our resident triathlete

Eric Eklund, Esq.: Former classical musician and current Ridgeback Chief Operating Officer

Colin Branch: Life Sales Manager at Allianz Life and retired NFL player

Brett Novielli: Divisional Vice President at Allianz Life, rugby coach at St. Joseph Prep

Jason Wellmann: Call him Senior Vice President at Allianz Life and captain when you’re on his boat

The Ridgeback Group join Colin Branch (Allianz Life) at the home of the Carolina Panthers

Love at first site

 

Crystal Quicano:
We very much look for carriers that want to think bigger, think differently, and disrupt the industry. And Allianz Life fit that box for us.

Colin Branch:
We love that The Ridgeback Group has a growth mindset and a commitment to the independent and distribution space — to me, those two things are key. Partnering with Ridgeback, who’s definitely looking at growth year over year, and starting something new and innovative, is right up our alley.

We believe in the Ridgeback story. You have the distribution chops to warrant our faith, but also the forward-thinking on the tech side. And you value real, genuine relationships as much as we do.”
Jason Wellman
Senior Vice President at Allianz Life

A relationship built on respect

 

Cole Porter:
Mutual respect is extremely important in a partnership like this. The entire Allianz Life team has shown nothing but that since we started working together. You’re also not satisfied with the way everything has been done. You try to disrupt and innovate as much as possible. I like the idea of partnering with Allianz Life — an organization that doesn’t want to do the same thing that’s been done a million times before.

Brett Novielli:
Allianz Life’s history, especially in the indexing space, whether it’s annuity or life insurance, is all about innovation. It’s something that we think gives us a competitive advantage, the ability to have that foresight to see what’s coming next. And that’s why partnering with The Ridgeback Group makes so much sense.

Eric Eklund, Esq.:
To say we are strategic partners means we are committed to each other and growing together by helping our firms grow. Yes — Ridgeback is new, but with Allianz Life, you visualize the company we are going to be, and Allianz Life is making that bet with us. That means a lot.

Jason Wellman:
We believe in the Ridgeback story. You have the distribution chops to warrant our faith, but also the forward-thinking on the tech side. And you value real, genuine relationships as much as we do.

Cole Porter, Firm Partner at The Ridgeback Group, surveys the field from a suite at Bank of America Stadium

Allianz Life is an organization that doesn’t want to do the same thing that’s been done a million times before.”
Cole Porter
Firm Partner at The Ridgeback Group

It’s about doing things differently for the sake of our firms

 

Eric:
Ridgeback is firm-first. You might even call us Firm Fiduciaries. You can’t expect things to be different if you don’t change and seek change from others. The life insurance industry demands positive change. Like Ridgeback, Allianz Life is a committed agent of change. Allianz Life is a dominant carrier in life, annuities, and investments with a global reach through their parent company, Allianz SE. Their strategies come from some of the most innovative minds in the industry. These are the strengths that our firms and their clients can rely on.

Jason:
If you look back on our track record, we’ve been consistent. We’ve been consistent in innovation. We’ve been consistent in how we’ve treated the end user of our products, which is the consumer. As long as I’m standing here, that is one thing we’re going to be: consistent.

Crystal Quicano, Head of New Business for The Ridgeback Group, speaking about the importance of true carrier relationships

Growing—and planning—together

 

Crystal:
What are some things that we can do to help Allianz Life with some of their goals moving forward with this relationship?

Jason:
For me, it’s all about the interface. We have so much to offer your firms. We have a whole unit of actuaries that travel, and we also have a dynamic hedging group through our affiliate [Allianz Investment Management U.S. LLC (AIM US)] that travels to talk about the story of Allianz Life — that ultimately is helping us help your firms grow what is needed.

Eric:
Sharing the Allianz Life story requires a thoughtful plan. It brings to mind the adage that people won’t remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. What feeling must a life insurance company emit to create familiarity and fondness from producers and clients?

At Ridgeback that is an important question. An insurance contract is often a lifelong contract. It is a bet that producers, clients, and insurers make together. We have to have confidence in the products we manufacture, buy, and sell. With Allianz Life, we have that confidence — that feeling.

 

 

Lessons learned from NFL locker rooms

 

Crystal:
Colin, you played in the NFL for the better part of 6 years. What are some takeaways you’ve learned from playing football and being in an NFL locker room that you would apply to a good carrier-distribution relationship?

Colin:
Oh, good question. The key to a championship team is you can have phenomenal players on the team, but you also need to get those guys to elevate the game of the other players around them. You can’t increase your production unless you bring everybody else with you.

That’s really it. In corporate America, one of the things that you have to do, is when doing a partnership, make it so as you grow, we grow as well. The rising tide lifts all boats. That’s why I think this partnership works really well. We’ll bring each other along.

Cole:
Before we wrap, there’s something I need to know. Third and long. Game on the line. Dan Murphy is lined up on the outside, one on one versus you. Is he catching that pass?

Colin:
Catching the pass and holding onto the pass after I get my hands on him are two very different things.

 

 

To learn more about this exciting new relationship, contact Cole Teegarden, Recruiting Coordinator at The Ridgeback Group:

 

colet@theridgebackgroup.com

 

You can’t expect things to be different if you don’t change and seek change from others. The life insurance industry demands positive change.”
Eric Eklund
Esq., Ridgeback Chief Operating Officer

Colin Branch, former NFL player and current Life Sales Manager at Allianz Life, talking to the Ridgeback team about his playing days

Allianz Investment Management U.S. LLC (AIM US) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) and both are part of Allianz Group. AIM US provides hedging services to the broader Allianz Group. AIM US does not issue or distribute any products. Allianz Life and AIM US are not affiliated with The Ridgeback Group. Annuities and life insurance are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. 800.542.5427 www.allianzlife.com. This content does not apply in the state of New York.