Thasunda Brown Duckett_ Leading A Firm With $1.2 Trillion AUM, Being Fortune 500 CEO, & 401k Myths-MP3

Sometimes we have this mindset that it's an either-or.

So if someone wants to do corporate, I'm going to be an entrepreneur. You can do that corporate thing. Is it just me? Nobody says that, you know?

It's my corporate friend.

Right, right.

And I, again, I operate, it's a we thing. I want more entrepreneurs. I want more people in corporate America. I want people participating in the political environment. I want people to be passionate about giving back in philanthropy and activism. The reason why I just share that is because this through line that I'm going to answer, it has nothing to do with your rented vision. It has everything to do with your ownable assets. And whether I am in corporate America or an entrepreneur, I'm still operating with ownable assets.

Well, first and foremost, thank you to TIA Cref for putting this together.

And thank you for sure. Thank you.

We've been running each other for a long time, so it's good that we actually now have an opportunity to have a conversation that we've been looking forward to for a very long period of time.

So thank you for being generous with your time.

Absolutely. It's a privilege.

And I told you this backstage, but every time we run into each other, and I think it's important that you hear this and everybody hears this, that you've always found a way to pour into us, encourage us to do more.

And so that's always given us fuel, right?

Watching somebody where you're at in your career to see us and see the work we're doing and understand the importance of it. But to recognize it and to pour into us to say there's more and how can I help, we greatly appreciate it. So thank you again.

Yeah, so I want to start.

So I think your accomplishments shouldn't be minimized as far as being the CEO of a company that manages over $ 1.

2 trillion. For sure.

I believe the only black CEO of a Fortune 100 company I think there's only been three in history.

When it comes to Fortune 500 companies.

So you're in very rare air and you don't really have many, you don't have any payers. So what is your journey to get to where you are now? I know you used to work for Chase and, you know, a couple other institutions. So there's a lot of young people in the audience and I'm sure in a lot of times they hear you know, these things, but what are the actionable items?

What's your path that you took to become the CEO of Cref?

Well, first, it's just.

Such a privilege to be with these two amazing men that are making impact around the world to ensure that millions of people can.

Earn their leisure. You all give them another round of applause.

We were talking in order to make impact, you have to disrupt. And if you're not disrupting, then you're not shifting the game. And I just have a lot of gratitude to see what you all are doing. And it's inspiring to see how you are connecting with young people and giving them a different narrative on how to make sure that they can grab the bag and keep the bag and see the bag compound. So in terms of my story, I want to take it back because I think it's important for all of you to have context, especially in this environment. I know at a very young age it was clear to me that I am on the shoulders of giants. I understand that my intellect, my passion, and my vision was not necessarily sufficient to be here.

There had to be so many people that paved the way and cracked ceilings for me to be in this seat. And so I am absolutely grounded in the understanding, and I like to say that it doesn't escape me in corporate America, that it was the cooks, the janitors, and the secretaries that introduced my gender and my melanin to corporate America. And so the reason why I share that context is in the words of Otis Brown, people may see your glory, but they don't.

Know your story.

It's important to make sure that you see people and understand that there were people that may not have this amazing rented title that paved the way for me to exist.

That's lesson one.

Be grounded in context, especially in your history, and let your history fuel your passion. In terms of how I got here, that's step one. Step two is Otis and Rosie Brown. When you have a father who worked in a warehouse scanning boxes and driving trucks, and you have a mother who's an educator, when you understand that you are first-generation integration, my parents grew up in.

The segregated South.

But Otis Brown told me at a very young age to reach for the moon, because even if you missed, you'd be among the stars. This is a man that scanned boxes. So in order to be in this seat, not understanding what that fully meant, I just knew that my dad had an expectation that he didn't even.

Understand what that could realize. Values.

My mother angered me in my character and my faith and making sure that I understood that you should see everyone. And how can I only always look for someone that has a rented title when the people that inspired me grew up in the segregated South? and when a man who was my hero did not have a college education.

The reason why I share this as it relates to my business journey is because so many times when you reach a level of success, you tend to start.

Your journey with your first career job, or you start your journey with where you graduated.

But I want to start my journey with the truth, and the truth is I'm on the shoulders of giants.

The truth is a man who did not have.

An education but was brilliant has a lot to do with why am I here today.

Fast forward. I love sports.

Sports played a really important role in my life. You know, on any given day, everyone plays a role. Grit, tenacity, teamwork, perseverance. And so this mindset of teamwork really played a role in my life as someone who played basketball and played volleyball and really was surrounded by brothers that played sports.

So what shifted for me?

The power of information.

There is a woman and man by the name of Mr. and Ms.

Patterson, and they told me about En-ROADS. Anyone familiar with En-ROADS?

Okay. I am a product of En-ROADS.

For those of you who do not know, En-ROADS is a program that provides students exposure to corporate America, especially underrepresented groups. And so without the power of information, I never even heard the word corporate America.

And so I share that as an insight.

Because you all are getting information every day at your university, give it away freely. The power of information led me to being in this chair. The second piece that changed the course of my life within.

Information was the power of advocacy.

So within Rhodes, they basically interview you, companies then decide they want one intern or 10. in a company by the name of Fannie Mae that's in the housing sector, had one intern. And when they interviewed me and a host of other students, they chose their one intern, and who do you think it was? Who?

No, her name was Sarah.

But a woman by the name of Valerie Manning, who was there to interview students, went back and said these words that changed my life.

But there's this other girl.

The reason, yes, the reason why I share this story is because Valerie Manning did not have this massive title. You did not get extra credit for saying, let me give you another intern.

But for whatever reason, Valerie.

Manning advocated for me when I didn't even understand what advocacy was about. And because Valerie Manning said, but there's this other girl, Fannie Mae added the second intern. And that was my introduction into corporate America.

And I worked there for many years.

And then an opportunity came to join JPMorgan Chase. And so I joined JPMorgan Chase. I had many jobs. I moved starting in mortgage because that was my passion.

I moved around.

I ended up running the entire mortgage sales team. And then I was tapped to be the CEO of Otto, first African-American woman or first African-American to run.

A line of business at the company.

I then moved into becoming the CEO of the consumer bank. And then an opportunity came for me to lead TIAA. And so the message here is information. Give it away freely because you could be giving information to a young girl that would become the first woman CEO of TIAA. You could be giving information to someone that just continued to make history. Give away information and then advocacy. Do not wait for your rented title to feel like you have power. You have power to advocate and always be okay advocating even when someone is not asking for you to advocate or may not even understand it. You may be the reason that history is made. And so for that, I'm incredibly grateful. And here I am today.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

So you are here, and you are a first, one of two CEO females of a Fortune 500 company. And being first, there comes a certain level of, I guess the word you use backstage was vulnerability. And there's scrutiny, and there's complexities that come with that. So how have you managed that throughout your career? Because it's not easy to be the first one in a space where you don't have contemporaries, you don't have anybody that kind of looks like you or looks like you.

And who do you know as your trust circle?

Who do you find as somebody that you can rely on for information?

How do you know who has your best interest?

Like, what are these complexities like for you in that space?

Wow.

So y'all ready to unpack this?

Let's do it.

The first thing that I would say to you all is, again, something that I really believe in. I always say publicly, I rent my title. I own my character. And so understanding... that I am the first, I also understand that it's rented. And the reason why I say that is so important is because I show up with my character because I own that.

And that gives me confidence. It gives me swagger.

It gives me something that no one can take away from me because my character is perseverance, is grit, is tenacity.

Is understanding history. It's being humble yet confident.

It's understanding that it's a we thing, that I do nothing by myself. And so that to me is so important when you're stepping into rooms where you're the only or you're stepping into environments where you will be the first. I also have this mindset that I am never by myself.

And so when I walk into a room, I'm like, come on, Shirley. Come on, Harriet. Come on, Rosie Brown.

Come on, Madison Duckett, Mackenzie Duckett. My point is sometimes when you are in a room and you are the only one, sometimes you have to know that you're not, that there is an army and there is history that is cheering you on. And so put your shoulders back and say, I'm in this room because I belong and I have something to say and I have value to add.

You have to pour on yourself.

Because sometimes in these roles, people are not pouring on you and everyone is not rooting for you. Next, who are you surrounding yourself with? You cannot be the first and stay if you are not building a powerful moat of individual leaders that align with your vision, that are clear on their assignment and their contribution, and are saying, we want.

To go on this journey with you.

Because therefore, in order to have staying power, you have to make sure that you're surrounding yourself with people that understands your minor to your major, that will give you insight and perspective to make sure that there's something that you may.

Need to know, and here is how, or I can take care of this.

Because if not, you can be walking in into an environment where you think you can do it all yourself And you're just walking onto landmines.

Every step of the way.

So surround yourself with people that have same values, different perspectives, different mindset, and empower them and unlock them. Let thoroughbreds run. Do not be afraid. That's very important. And then lastly, as a leader, I would say it's not easy. It's not easy when you are the first of anything. And clearly, you know, being the first as an African-American, as a woman, people will have their own mindset on why you're in the seat. And so something that Rosie Brown told me at a very young age is when someone is is talking about you or have a view about you that is not true. It is like someone sending something into the mail for you that does not have your name on it.

And what do you do? You return it to sender.

And so when people may look at me and say, why are you here? What you know, what program or what this. I just say they're lazy. They did not do their homework. They did not see that I have three degrees. They did not see the performance or the track record. They did not see the ability to recruit and retain amazing talent. So they are lazy in their research, which I would take pause. if they're lazy in their research.

And so my point to all of you is that it is not easy. It's not easy to be the first, and it's not easy to not just be the first, but to be someone that wants to make impact, to be someone that sees everyone in a room and wants to unlock everyone's talent.

That's not easy. But when you know that you are here for a reason, and when you know.

That the assignment is not the rented title, the assignment is impact, then you align yourself with wonderful people, you're clear on the vision for the company, you deliver those results for the company, but you also look at the way in which we will deliver results will be lasting impact. And I think that's really important for me. And it's important to make sure that I'm surrounding myself with people that understand and that continues to encourage me, have my back and support me as you're going through a journey.

And the goal is to not celebrate being one of two.

To me, I'm thankful. I have gratitude, but I'm also frustrated.

Because I know that there's more than two black women that are qualified to do amazing work. I know that there's more than 52 or 53 women running a Fortune 500 that can make impact. I understand that the first or the second or the third is not the assignment, is when there's a fourth, fifth, sixth, 10th.

30th, 50th percent. of women running companies.

That is when we can say we're here. And by the way, this is not an either or, and I think it's so important in this environment. To say that I want to see more women who has done the work, that is qualified, that can make impact. I want that number to grow. I also believe that when we unlock full talent, we'll create and birth new companies in this country.

We'll unlock new innovations in this country. I believe that when you expand the pie, the pie expands. So this is not an either or. In order for us to continue to be relevant and add value around the globe, we have to unlock everyone's talent and not look at it as a lose position.

But look at it as an end. And I think that's an important point when.

We're talking about equity or meritocracy. It's not at the expense of someone else not getting the shot. It's what pie can be expanded as a result of letting the players play and let the best win.

So piggybacking off of that point, post-George Floyd, corporate America pledged billions of dollars to black businesses, black entrepreneurs, black startups. A vast majority of that money has been rescinded. The court system is tearing apart affirmative action to the point where it's almost decimated. A lot of your counterparts have been very vocal on DEI, and they're anti it, to say it nicely. So you, as a leader in corporate America, what is your thoughts on that current position Diversity, equity, and inclusion.

What does it mean to you? What does it mean to your organization?

And I would like to hear your viewpoints on it because we've heard a lot of other people share their views lately.

Yes.

I mean, if you break this apart, diversity is beautiful. If you break this apart, equity is beautiful. If you break this apart, inclusion is impactful. And so when I think about diversity, equity, and inclusion, those are beautiful words, objectives, vision, to be able to say, how can we have a company that can cast the widest net.

To truly have an inclusion for everyone?

And I think that unfortunately, the narrative and the polarization of it is getting in the way of what are we really here to solve.

Context. Are y'all with me? What is the root cause?

And as a leader, you always want to understand the root cause for anything.

The root cause. The root cause is.

Is that we have started, and if I make this about corporate America, in an exclusionary mindset. We've started with the exclusion of women. We started with the exclusion of people of color, or with the exclusion of people with different abilities. And so over time, with a fight in policies and laws and voices, we have worked to address an exclusionary structure to be more inclusive. Put this in perspective.

The first female CEO did not happen until the 1970s, the decade in which I was born.

The first. Put this in perspective.

The first that we had a policy at the federal level for.

Maternal leave, maternity leave was in the 90s.

To put this in perspective, ADA, American with Disabilities Act, in terms of policies for people with different abilities did not happen until the 90s.

I see your mouth just dropped. You see that? She's like, what?

And so when you think about what we're doing and where we are today, we are young and new to.

This structure of inclusion.

And so whenever you are here to make progress, it's going to have a bumpy line. Progress is never straight. And right now, it is really hard. But I think it's important for leaders, and I would say for us at TIA, it goes back to our values. Regardless of what you want to call it, our values is that we want to cast the widest net. It's our understanding of if we cast a wide net, and we may be introducing new employees into our ecosystem, there may be policies or practices that we didn't understand could have a negative impact. And so by understanding and getting proximate to saying what's getting in the way, like when women entered the workforce, going out on maternity leave, there should be a policy, but you didn't understand that.

Because you didn't have women in the workplace.

And so I think when we really talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is about opening up the aperture of talent It is about then looking at your policies and practices to say, is there anything that's getting in the way that would not unlock someone's potential? Is there someone with a different ability, think about ADA, that can't navigate up and down stairs, so maybe we should have a ramp or really make sure that every building has an elevator so that they can be their best version and that we can recruit them and they will stay because we didn't make it unbearable for them to come to work every day. And so now more than ever, we are in a diverse global world that's inside our workforce.

Now more than ever, we are in a time where we have inner generations all working together.

So of course there's going to be different views, different mindsets.

There's going to be a lot of concern and angst, but I say as a leader that when you go back to your values as a company that says, I want to cast the widest net to compete globally, I understand that the rate of change is happening so quickly that if I am not staying on top of what I need, I can miss it, and that can have a long-term impact. I need to understand the diverse perspectives of the people in my workforce to make sure that what we are about as a company is something that's resonating with the generations of today, tomorrow, and the future.

And so, yes, there's a lot going on, but we cannot get tired about the problem we're really trying to solve. And I would just say that if you really break it all down, the word diversity is not a bad word. Equity is not a bad word. Inclusion is not a bad word. The opportunity to unlock talent is something that I think as leaders, we must double down on.

If we want to compete, we have to compete.

And in order to compete, we need to look all around the country to find the talent. And so it is, it's heavy to know that sometimes the narrative or what people say can feel like a direct attack on my being. That sometimes it could feel, will my children be seen for the content of their character, not the color of their skin, but I want them to see them.

So it is heavy, but we cannot get tired.

And as leaders, I think we have to continue to align with the values of your company, to understand that Things are hard. It's not in a straight line. But are we on the right side of impact and growth? Are we on the right.

Side of wanting to do good in the community?

Are we on the right side of wanting to make sure that our employees can feel.

Safe and protected?

Everyone.

Are we on the right side of unlocking ideas and thoughts and making sure we get counter narratives and don't shut down voice but open up voice in order to make sure that we can unlock the future? So it's a lot going on. But I can't get tired. We can't get tired. And we have to just always go to the root cause and understand our why. And don't let the narratives that are not aligned to the spirit of what we're trying to do distract. And I know it's really tough because there's a lot of polarization and that many companies have to pivot and address.

And there's many ways to pivot without losing sight of the main thing.

And for us at TIA, we are committed to unlocking the very best talent. and understanding that the best talent looks like me and do not look like me. The best talent is black, white, Hispanic, Muslim, Christian, Republican, Democrat, born in this country, not born in this country, but they're.

Wearing one jersey and that's the TIA jersey.

And that has to be the connective tissue that I think we get back to as leaders.

Yeah, I love the word context because when you give context, especially to a younger audience of students, it allows them to get a historical perspective, but it also allows them to move in the future with more intentionality.

Yes.

And when I hear you speak, I hear two things for sure. I hear purpose, I hear passion, and I hear, well.

Three things. I hear intent as well.

And so a lot of times, you know, we get asked the question, well, how do I know my purpose or how do I differentiate between purpose passion and purpose, at what point in your journey did you have to differentiate or were you made aware of the difference and decided to go purpose-driven life?

I mean, purpose is only valuable if the goal is impact. And so my purpose is to inspire and make positive impact. And I say that Because there's no, for me, there's no other explanation for me sitting here talking to earn your leisure.

You know, I am from the South. You know, my mom is an educator.

My dad drove trucks and scanned boxes. I'm first generation integration. You know, I went to schools in the South, but I work in New York in the largest financial center.

You know, I didn't know people. I wasn't connected. You know, I understand struggle.

I know what it's like to open up your refrigerator and only see baking soda and wonder, how are we going to make a meal?

I understand what.

It's like for your parents to do their very best when their best is not sufficient.

Anybody feel me on that?

Yeah, absolutely.

I understand that.

And so I am fueled with purpose. And what I know for sure is that as a leader in corporate America, as a leader who's passionate about financial impact, to earn your leisure, to secure the bag, to get your paper right, the only way that I can do that is to be steadfast on purpose because it is not easy. And the only way for me to say, why am I here?

Why me?

Is because I believe that there is something higher for me to do, and I think the work to do is to try to do my part to make sure that we can address financial inequality, to make sure that all Americans can retire with dignity. I've only played in financial services my entire career, even though I wasn't raised in the financial service sector. And so purpose and impact, I think, has always been in me. And I think that the older that I've gotten and to make it all make sense. it made sense when I aligned with purpose.

And then I was able to be okay with the accolades. You know sometimes, because you all go to these amazing universities here, and you know when someone says, oh my.

Gosh, you are amazing. Like, I'm just trying to make it. Anybody with that? I'm just, okay, thank you. It's not just me.

Anyone has tried to dim your light a little bit because you couldn't accept the fact that you're a first generation in college, or you couldn't accept the fact that you're at this amazing college. So you would dim your light when you go home, or is it just me?

Okay.

The reason why I say that.

On purpose and impact is because I would be like, oh, it's just, you know, T Brown. I'm just, you know, trying to make it until I could connect with purpose because I couldn't own that shine until I can understand the why, because I'm not here for the shine.

So it felt uncomfortable.

But when I was able to connect my why with to purpose and impact, oh yes, let's go, let's grow, let's make impact, let's make decisions, let's, you know, think about this next hill we can climb for the company. So my point is to you is that purpose and impact made it all make sense to me. Purpose and impact makes it okay when you know you're going to take body shots. Purpose and impact makes it okay when you know that everyone is not going to like your existence, but you exist anyway. Purpose and impact is what has allowed me to have this fire in my belly to not dim my light because it is meant to shine.

It is meant to make positive impact. Purpose and impact is my why I want to talk to young people. Why I do my best to be seen so that you can see what you can be that you may not see every day. Because I don't want anyone opting out of corporate America because you don't see yourself. I don't want women opting out because they don't believe they can do it if they want to have a family.

I don't want people to think that you do it by yourself, which is why I talk about my husband. You know, it's a we thing. And so purpose and impact for me makes being a CEO of an amazing company make sense. And to be at a company that's also mission-driven, to me, it's the connective tissue of exactly where I'm supposed to be because my values and my why, I get to lead a company that shares in those values.

And I get to accelerate impact, in my humble opinion, because I get to align myself with people that have a shared mission of what we're trying to do. So purpose and impact makes it all make sense.

Y'all with me?

All right.

So let me ask you about the hottest topic in the world right now, artificial intelligence.

Yes.

They said over 25% of the jobs globally will be cut or replaced by artificial intelligence over the next 10 years.

Over the next 20 years, it reports of 40%.

40% of every single job in the world could be impacted by artificial intelligence.

In your world, we see robo-advisors.

Yep.

A lot of different things that's happening.

What's your perspective on AI and the financial services sector? And how are you currently using AI to grow the company? And yeah, what's the pathway for your company in artificial intelligence?

I mean, AI is the topic for every CEO. I know you all just got back from Davos and that was the topic.

And so let's unpack it.

First, clearly for a company like ourselves that are long-term investors, It's important that as we think about AI, we also think about risk and protection.

It's about data. AI at the root, it's about data.

And making sure that you have the underlining chassis to make sure that you have clean data, that you have the underlining chassis to make sure you're protecting the data and to make sure you're spending a lot of time thinking about risk. And so as excited, as I am about AI and generative AI, I think it's important as a leader and for all of you to be thinking first about what is the risk. So that we're spending a lot of time understanding. The second piece is that AI is not like this technology department. AI is cutting across every role, every job. And so the way we think about it at TIAA is to look at use cases.

How can we think about AI at every level of our company, every division, every department to accomplish.

A few things?

One, how can we use AI to empower our own people? And so, yes, there will be a shift in jobs, but that is not new either. You know, technology changed the game, but jobs still prevailed. And so I do think that we can't think about it as if it's, again, a lose-win scenario. When history tells us whenever there's been a shift... We've created a new economy and we educated and prepared workers for that new economy. And so it is in our best interest to make sure that we are not scaring people, but empowering through educating and taking people on the journey of how AI will make employees jobs easier so that they can focus on the things that they really love. So efficiency companion is an opportunity.

I also think that AI will open up new ideas and new innovation. When you just think about the power and the compounding aspects of what this technology is already doing, and you're already seeing use cases, you're seeing it in human resources, you're seeing it in marketing, and so AI is already here.

And for us, we see AI already when we look at.

Our call centers and how AI is helping us get smarter about the type of call so that we can respond to our participants faster, smarter, and not having them to re-authenticate.

Themselves over and over because you can use AI.

So there's so many use cases that can improve and delight the client experience, which is also important. So efficiency, employee experience, client experience, innovation, Future, today, is AI. But it is something that I think we have to make sure that all employees understand because it's scary. What does this mean for me? And I think it's important for us to take them on a journey. For us at TIA, we want to educate our employees. We provide opportunities for any employee to get exposure to technology, learn how to code, learn how to understand cybersecurity, all the things around technology and where we think the puck is going so that we can make sure that our existing workforce is prepared

for where we're going in a way that we can reskill, retrain, and open up that aperture of talent in a way that they can feel confident, they can go from this role to that role, but the key is intellectual curiosity. I do think the opportunity for all of us, and I would say this for young people, once you graduate, you have not stopped learning.

The objective, especially when.

You think about AI and generative AI, is this intellectual curiosity. You're not going to out-Google Google. There's nothing that you can memorize that Siri got you. But the most important thing that you own is how you think about something, how you apply it, how it can unlock a problem that we're trying to solve. And so the most important thing that I would share with all of you is to stay curious and do not be afraid of the technology, embrace it, but make sure that we're all thinking about it in.

A responsible way.

And finally, I would say embrace and understand as leaders is yesterday's compliance and governance is not today's or tomorrow's. And so we also have to make sure that we're investing in our lines of defense and making sure that we're calibrating not just the issues of today, but also protection for tomorrow. And I think AI is in the center of that opportunity.

So I'm excited about AI.

I'm excited about what it can mean for what we do and who we serve and what it can unlock. but it needs to be in a responsible way. It needs to be in a way that we take our employees on a journey in a way that we can evoke confidence and not fear in the technology.

It's interesting.

We were in Davos and they were talking about generations who feared technology and they brought the analogy of the typewriter and people fearing the computer. Yes. And they said, you know what, we don't know what we're going to do. We're not going to have jobs until you realize that everybody is sitting in front of a computer. And then they said there was a mail room, but we got emails.

So that's not we're going to need that as much until you have 20,000 emails.

Right.

And so we should just be mindful and educate ourselves on it. But there are some things that will affect this generation and our generation. Inflation, student loan debt, mortgage rates, all these things that these young adults here was sitting before us now will have to face. At what point, since TIAA is no for retirement, at what point should these young adults start to think or get education around retirement, retirement planning?

Okay, I'm going to give you all a quiz.

Is it today or once I'm 65 I should think about retirement?

Today. Today.

Y'all are ready. Okay, let's unpack this. There's a word that I.

Want you all to write down, memorize, tell a friend, phone a friend. It starts with a C. Does anybody know the word?

Compounding. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar what? Tomorrow.

And so when you think about where you all are going, let's talk about your post-graduation.

The context in the backdrop is correct.

Inflation, globalization, geopolitical unrest, student loan debt. We also know that African Americans have a disproportionate of debt in terms of student loans. And so when you look at all of this, it can feel daunting.

But here are the steps.

Step one, especially when it comes to preparing, when you get your first job, y'all are going to Y'all are going to send me a note on the side because you're going to do this and tell me about it.

Your very first job, they're going to give you your job offer. Here's your money.

The first thing that I want you to do is to look at your benefit package and to make sure you maximize your 401k or your 403b.

Why?

Compounding, but also many companies match it. So unless you're okay leaving the coins on the table because you're only going to do 3% instead of the max, start the max.

Why?

Because tomorrow's check is way more than you have today. The minute you see the money, you have allocated. But if day one, you say, max me out, you're going to do two things. One, you're going to say, you know what, because I want all of the benefits that I'm entitled to. I don't want to leave any of the coins on the table. So you're going to get that because of the match. And two, it's because I understand that that if I compound with this match and then whatever I bring home is more than I've ever had today, then as my income rise, I'm already preparing for my retirement and I'm taking full advantage of the benefit of the money that the company is matching. Don't leave the money on the table unless you're comfortable and

you got it like that, that's fine.

So, first thing you're gonna do is what? Max it out.

That's where you get your full value. That is something that I do want to emphasize. That's something that I did when I first started. I was making $ 26, 000 a year, but that.

Was $ 26, 000.

More than I made on Sunday when I graduated. And to do that immediately, I didn't miss it because all of my raises and everything was already working for me.

So that's the thing.

When you think about this vision of retirement, so many times people say, young people don't want to talk about retirement. Don't nobody think about it. I'm like, don't underestimate young people. Young people care about the climate. Young people are thinking about the future in a way that we never even understood.

So let's not put our bias on this generation. How many of you all want to make sure that you have generational wealth?

All of you. I'm going to ask another question. All right. We can do the clap, snap, raise hand, whatever.

I don't know what earn your leisure like to do, but whatever it is, it is a snap.

What are we doing?

It's a clap.

Okay. It's a clap.

How many of you all understand what struggle looks like when your parents or grandparents or auntie did the best that they can right now and it's hard? How many of you don't want to transfer debt, but you want to transfer wealth? So we should talk about retirement. I want to shift how you dream. I want to shift the dream from when I graduate, I'm going to get that real nice car, big time series, because I see, you know, we're going to leave it at that, right?

You know, I see.

Please, please.

You know what I mean?

But, you know, I see how this is and how that is. So I'm going to do that first. I want to shift your mindset and remember what you just told me. You said you want to build wealth. You said that you want to lighten the burden on your family in a way that maybe your parents couldn't lighten the burden on themselves.

A brand new car, which is a depreciating asset, day.

One of graduation does not align with what you just said.

So make it make sense.

If you say that you want to make sure that you can have a better future or take care of mom. Flexing on that very expensive rented apartment that you show everybody the amenities that is not in your name is not the flex.

Not the flex.

So if, and you see him, he's like, oh no, oh no, am I stepping on toes already, shifting dreams and goals already? My point is on this post-graduation, Remember what you said you wanted and do a regression to your decisions the minute you graduate. Make sure you have your game plan in place. Make sure that you're saying, I want to get educated.

On stocks and bonds and alternatives.

I want to make sure I maximize my retirement. Make sure you understand tax strategies.

Please write that down.

Make sure you understand how a retirement vehicle, like an IRA, has tax advantages for you. Please write that down. My point is, have a plan on how you're going to attack the decision that you made around student debt.

You invested in yourself. I don't think that's a negative.

You invested in yourself and you made it work the best way you knew how. Shift your mindset and say, therefore, I have to have a budget to take care of that debt and attack it.

My point is, having a vision of the life that you.

Deserve, a life that maybe you couldn't even imagine, starts with the decisions you make in your early 20s. It starts with the mindset that you're honing as a college student. Because if you graduate and haven't matured your mindset, it's not what you make, it's what you keep, and it's what you compound.

You're not going to be ready.

And so my advice to all of you, the student loan debt was your investment in self.

Embrace it. You already did it. Figure out your game plan. Allocate for that.

Don't start your first check with a depreciating asset. Start with all the tips you're hearing from these two fine gentlemen and make sure you think about investing and saving.

Make sure you have that rainy.

Day fund because how many of you all know you can't call mom to help pay for these things?

So you have to plan for that.

And then with retirement, let me give you the stat, which is why it's important for today to have the conversation. 40% of all Americans, all Americans, do not have enough for a secure retirement. For African Americans, it's much more pronounced. Women retire with 30% less. And so that's why I say, do you want to transfer wealth or debt?

Make it make sense.

If you don't make the decisions today, you're basically saying, if I have a family, they'll take care of me and.

Figure it out.

Because I'm not going to worry about it. And I'll give them the debt. I'm saying to you all, we don't want that. We don't want to transfer debt to our children. We want to transfer wealth. And that's making sure that they don't have to worry because you can say, I'm good. I have enough to take care of all of my hopes and dreams. And I even have enough to transfer to you because I made decisions at 22 because I had vision in mind.

I thought about my future self.

And I actually thought about my reality and I looked in my community and I said, I can be better.

True story. Y'all know I talked about Otis Brown, right? My hero.

My dad worked for over 40 plus years doing his best, even when his best was not sufficient financially. When I graduated from college, we were, we happened to have a conversation and he showed me his retirement package.

When the daughter has to look at a father who's full of pride.

And say, dad, this is not enough. You're basically saying I'll have to take care of you. Otis Brown had a pension, but he never contributed $ 1 to his 401k plan. And it was a very generous plan with a lot of match, not $ 1. And for the daughter to tell a father who did his best, that hurt. And it also angered me because I said, why didn't someone in power think about the man scanning boxes and making sure that it wasn't just a flyer, but to go to an Otis Brown and say, I know that you are doing the best for your children. Here is something you need to do. And when people tell me people don't have money, people robbing Peter Paypal, they're.

Trying to make it work.

I don't buy into that because Otis Brown, after his daughter told him, he immediately maxed out, immediately.

Tried to do the catch up. I don't know how he made it. Remember, I was making $ 26, 000.

He didn't know he was going to have a CEO daughter, but he took the information and he immediately act upon it. I don't know how they made it work. But what Otis Brown did not want is to have information and not take advantage of it when it was not going to be helpful to his daughter and his sons. And so let's not have this narrative that you don't bring information to people because they may be at this level of the economy. Don't count their coins because they know how to make a dollar out of 15 cents because they've been doing that. And so why not make sure that we're bringing this information to.

The Otis Browns? And so as a CEO, I think.

About an Otis Brown every day and say, am I bringing this information to people that are like my father, making it the best way they can and don't think they can do it, but no one connected the dots on what the impact of that lack of decision will mean. And so I hope I'm making sense to all of you because this is real talk. I'm not telling you what I think. I'm not telling you what I lead.

I'm telling you what I have lived. And I'm telling you, you all have an opportunity to secure the bag today and compound the bag tomorrow. if you make the right decisions and you shift your mindset on what am I going to do to.

Align with my true dreams?

And I fundamentally believe young people do want to talk about long-term planning. We just have to do it in a way that's relatable and in a way that they can connect.

Am I relating?

Okay. So, um, We talk a lot about entrepreneurship.

Yes, so important.

That's our path, but your path is different as far as on the corporate world. Yes. You worked your way up to the highest level.

What advice would you give to anybody that wants to go into corporate America and reach the highest level of success in corporate America?

You know, you know what's interesting, and I know.

Sometimes we have this mindset that that it's an either or. So if someone wants to do corporate, I'm going to be an entrepreneur.

You can do that corporate thing. Is it just me? Nobody says that, you know?

That's my corporate friend. Right, right.

You know, it's like, yeah.

about your supply chain, as you think about your investment strategy, as you think about new businesses that are being formed that can be accretive to your business. So my advice to me transcends whatever your rented vision is, and that is never dim your light. The struggle will be there whether you're an entrepreneur or in corporate. There's days people see they think it's all fun, but it's tough to be a leader in corporate America or to start a business.

It's important to plan, to make sure that you're prepared for the ups and downs. Corporate America does not do a straight line. Entrepreneurship does not run in a straight line. To make sure you surround yourself with a strong team and know that no matter how dope you are, you.

Don't know everything.

Be okay being vulnerable and saying, these are my majors. I need to surround myself with people that complement my minors in order for me to make impact.

Stay intellectually curious. Make sure that.

You lead in a way that can inspire, even if it's a team of one. You have to operate with the vision in mind. You're not looking at, I don't look at a company for today. I'm operating with a bigger vision in mind. And I think that's true for entrepreneurship. You're not operating in today. You're operating with a vision in mind, and then you're regressing to say, what's the job to be done today.

And so for those of you that are.

Looking to pursue a career in corporate America, one, we need you.

We need your ideas. We need your perspective. We need your insight.

And it's not your major that's the flex because there's so many people majoring in what you're majoring in. Some of you are in computer science, finance, et cetera. That's not the unicorn. The unicorn is you because there is no one like you with your headset, with your background, with your perspective. So what I would also say, especially in corporate America, make sure you're not hiding and only doing the work of being the finance person or the analyst and you're not bringing your voice to the table.

Because that's your differentiator.

The difference in companies that are accelerating and those are declining is not that they didn't hire people that have finance degrees or they're lawyers or they're risk managers. That's not the thing. The thing for me is that did I unlock their perspective? And I think more than ever in corporate America, perspective is the differentiator.

How do I think about this is the question.

Not my qualifications, but what did the qualifications yield to honing how I think? And so for corporate America, I would say that lastly, I would say in corporate America, it's not easy. There'll be things that you may be passionate in and then you go do your research and you don't see anyone that look like you.

Okay.

Level up.

Maybe you're the one that's supposed to be the first in order for there to be a second. Don't only go to where you already see yourself, but that's not what you love. Say, you know what, I want to go here, I know it won't be easy, but this is what I love and I will not be denied. I will not be denied. You may have a manager that may not be great, but I'm not opting out on my vision for me. So I am using this as an opportunity to flex my skills on how to navigate difference. Change your perspective because the reality, if you want to be a boss, If you want to run a company, if you want to create a company and have a staying power.

You better have agility.

And by the way, it's really good if you're going through tough moments young so that as you get older, you can say, I've seen this before.

I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.

Oh, I've dealt with this kind of person before. I know how to navigate. I'm not going to opt out if this is my dream. No one will deny that. It's on me to look at this as an opportunity to hone my skills and Because I know I'm going to be running a company one day. So I'm going to have to deal with these personalities. So I'm going to go ahead and figure out how to connect. I would also say in corporate America, you have to not just look at yourself to what you're doing. I call it shift F9, which is that old school key. Know the process before what's coming to you and know where you're taking it.

Make sure you look up. Make sure you look to the left and to the right. Make sure you show up. Go to the office. There's inner generations.

You are in a community where there may be people in their sixties and seventies.

They have so much value.

Don't just say, I'm just going to hide behind my computer and I'm not, you.

Know, I'm good. I'm producing.

Then you're missing the knowledge of someone that's been in this space for 30, 40 years.

You know, that's, that's power.

So make sure that when you are in the halls of corporate America, that you're looking up and you're asking questions. You're talking to people of difference. And one thing I do want to circle back is, you know, I think this is important. Your mentors and your people that advocate doesn't always mean that they have to look like you.

Some of the most impactful people in my life that have advocated for me, that took me to the side, that gave me insight, they were all not women and they were all not black and they were all not people of color.

White men have been my mentors too.

And so I do think sometimes you may opt yourself and not lean into the fact that you can be mentored and you can learn from people that don't look like you and don't assume that they don't want to help. Don't assume that they're not here to help you get better.

Be open to the possibility.

Even if along the way you may not have someone that looks like you, it doesn't mean that you don't have people that don't care about you. And I think that's really important in an environment that sometimes you might be the only.

So my final question as our time is running, you know, music is a universal language that we all understand and appreciate.

You know, when we started Earning Your Leisure, The idea was to use music to decode financial lessons. So anytime I heard it, I'm like, okay, that's a lesson on appreciation. That's a lesson on asset allocation. So we kind of use that as the carrot. And I know, you know, you guys have partnered with Wyclef Jean, a legend in the world of music. So talk about the partnership and the impact that it's gonna have.

Well, again, let's talk about the context of the why. What's the fact that informed this moment? 41% of young people between the ages of 25 and 35 are not contributing towards their retirement.

Remember y'all's vision of what y'all want? We not on track.

So that stat was staggering. And so then we said, if that is the stat, and this is who we are, we want to be a leader in lifetime income, we want people to make sure that they can have a secure retirement, then how do we bridge? And so culture matters to this age group.

Millennials, Gen Z, y'all tell me if I'm wrong. Culture matters.

Culture today transcends gender, race, rural, urban, suburban.

Culture of music matters. is what is empowering change if done properly.

And so what we said is how do we meet the young people where they are? How can we bring music that can bring people together, that.

Can inspire without judgment?

How do we bring the message in a way that young people can receive it, in a way that can create a dialogue and a conversation? And so the partnership and the engagement with Wyclef and this song about paper right was the notion of a staggering stat that says if that stat continues, we will not make progress on the overall 40% number that I told you. And by the way, people are living longer and longevity risk is real.

People need to feel.

Confident that they will not outlive their retirement. And so through music and through lyrics, of their experience has caused a conversation about this. And what I love about what Zahra has done and the marketing team at TIAA has done is that we connected it with what's also important to young people, which is purpose. And so the proceeds is going to help under-resourced high schools learn about financial security And so it becomes this circle. And all you have to do, are y'all ready for a call to action?

I done gave y'all a lot of call to actions, all right? But here's another one. All you have to do is stream it, download it. It's on Spotify, Apple, all the music y'all listen to.

Download it.

And when you download it and stream, just that act is providing dollars to an amazing not-for-profit that's helping young people in under-resourced communities learn about financial security. And so your inspiration of music inspiring you is also inspiring people that what if we heard this when we were young?

I know there's a bunch of high school students here. You're getting that benefit.

So paper, right? Music, it's culture.

It spans gender, race, ethnicity, background, parts of town. And our objective at TIA is to make sure that this young generation is having a conversation today about getting your paper right so that you can then have the right building blocks to retire inequality, to be the change, and to make sure that we're transferring wealth and not debt.

So we are excited about doing something that's relevant, but it's based on an insight. And then it's about how do you then meet the people and get out of our own way, the older people, and say, I.

Don't know about all that. We didn't have all that music and we invested our money. Well, you're not them.

So sometimes it's about us calibrating and challenging our own thinking in order to make impact. And that means sometimes getting uncomfortable. But getting uncomfortable is where progress resides. And we know that we have an uncomfortable situation with that stat. And so bringing an inspirational music, partnering with some pretty amazing people that's connecting with this generation is with intent and it's with purpose and for that i'm really excited about it and i'm excited of you all being able to hear the song but listen to the lyrics and create a dialogue within yourselves on what is your story and then what do you need to do to get your paper right to make sure that you can retire with dignity and transfer wealth to the next generation.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Make some noise for Shonda Brown Duckett. Thank you guys for your time. Appreciate you so much.

Thank you.

Thasunda Brown Duckett_ Leading A Firm With $1.2 Trillion AUM, Being Fortune 500 CEO, & 401k Myths-MP3

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