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Spotlight on Liza Tyler at Transamerica

March 2026

What inspired you to pursue a career in this industry, and how has your perspective evolved over time?

I entered the industry unexpectedly after accepting a summer role as an internal wholesaler while planning to attend law school. I saw firsthand how guarantees and lifetime income can change financial anxiety into confidence. This experience drew me in, and over time, my attention shifted from products to outcomes: simplifying decisions, delivering benefits at critical moments, and earning trust through transparency and service.

What sets your company apart from others in your industry?

Transamerica offers a trusted brand, a broad range of retirement and protection solutions, and multiple distribution channels. This diversification approach allows us to invest through market cycles while remaining focused on long-term customer outcomes. We combine strong risk and governance discipline with a modern approach, simplifying products, upgrading service, and applying insights to help advisors deliver highly personalized retirement strategies. To sum up, we provide scale and stability with a consistent focus on making retirement more accessible.

How is your company adapting to address the changing needs of consumers?

Consumers seek confidence, flexibility and simplicity. We are responding to these needs by designing annuity solutions that provide protected lifetime income while offering liquidity and accumulation options. We are also improving the entire experience with clearer and more precise disclosures, faster onboarding, and expanded digital self-service, enabling advisors and customers to transact and receive answers more efficiently. We use data and feedback to consistently enhance our products and services to better support real-life retirement journeys.

How do you see artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI reshaping strategic objectives and business operations in your company?

AI, especially generative AI, will accelerate productivity and quality throughout the annuity value chain. We are evaluating applications such as faster document and data extraction, improved knowledge search for service teams, and more consistent customer communications, all supported by human review and strong governance. Over time, AI can enhance fraud detection, risk monitoring, and the delivery of insights to advisors, helping them focus more on providing advice and less on administrative tasks. Success will depend on harmonizing innovation with effective controls, privacy, and model risk management.

How would you describe your leadership style, and how does it influence your team’s/organization’s culture?

I am a transformational leader who prizes clarity and execution. I define a clear strategic narrative and enable teams with the authority, tools and guidance to act quickly. I expect high accountability and invest significantly in coaching and fostering psychological safety, encouraging team members to scrutinize assumptions and contribute better ideas. This combination of focus, empowerment, and candid feedback has enabled us to achieve strong results and build an engaged, resilient culture.

What initiatives has your team undertaken to improve customer experience and engagement?

We are redesigning the annuity experience to focus on the moments that count most to customers: buying, servicing, and taking income. This includes simplifying forms and disclosures, reducing turnaround times, and providing digital tools that enable advisors to track status and resolve difficulties efficiently. We have further improved our “voice of the customer” program to focus on feedback-driven improvements, and we measure success by customer effort and speed. Our goal is to deliver an uninterrupted, high-confidence experience that makes it easy to fulfill our promises.

What are some of the biggest challenges currently facing the industry, and how is your company addressing them?

The two main challenges are complexity and trust. Consumers seek guarantees and also want to understand their purchases, especially in an unpredictable market environment. We tackle this by simplifying product features and communications, enhancing advisor support, and investing in service and technology to ensure the experience is consistent with our promises. Simultaneously, we are strengthening risk management, cybersecurity, and data governance to protect customer information and maintain confidence. The industry will grow by making protected income both easier to purchase and easier to use.

How do you see the role of the advisory board evolving in the next five years?

In the next five years, advisory boards will shift from periodic guidance toward continuous, data-driven collaboration. The industry is evolving rapidly in areas such as rates, regulation, distribution and technology, making annual touchpoints insufficient. I expect the board to focus on actionable research, share scalable best practices, and provide a safe forum for frank discussion on emerging risks such as AI governance and cybersecurity. Most importantly, we will maintain a focus on the end customer by boosting financial wellness and making lifetime income solutions increasingly accessible and understandable.

Liza Tyler serves as the chair of LIMRA’s Annuity Advisory Board.

 

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