Leadership Breakfast: November 21–Grand Rapids

Fred Sievert started his career as a teacher, later entered the insurance busi­ness, and retired in 2007 as president of New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 corporation. Following his retirement at age fifty-nine, Fred attended Yale Divinity School and was awarded a master’s degree in religion in 2011.

In his career, Fred enjoyed many successes but also had to deal with much stress, many challenges, and even some serious setbacks. Through it all, he credits his success to a reliance on daily prayer, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Fred has held numerous leadership positions in industry related associations and organizations. He is a past-chairman of the Life Insurance Council of New York (LICONY), The American College of Financial Services and The Actuarial Foundation.

He received the highest honor bestowed upon industry leaders by the American College (The Solomon Heubner Gold Medal Award) in 2008 and was named a “Legend of the Industry” in 2012; a joint award bestowed by the American Council of Life Insurance and The Actuarial Foundation. In December of 2013, Fred received the Lifetime Achievement award bestowed by the Million Dollar Roundtable of New York.

Fred’s passion is to positively impact the lives of others by writing and speaking about his faith and his business experiences.

In 2014 Fred published his first book on his many personal encounters with God titled: God Revealed: Revisit Your Past to Enrich Your Future. In 2018, he published his second book containing stories of people he’s known who were in crisis and only found comfort and relief through their faith. The second book is titled: Grace Revealed: Finding God’s Strength in Any Crisis.

In 2021, he has published his third book titled, Fast-Starting a Career of Consequence: Practical Christ-Centered Advice for Entering or Re-entering the Workforce. All of his books are available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and on many other retail web sites.  Fred has been interviewed on numerous radio and TV shows following the publication of each of his books.

In addition to remaining active throughout his career in industry activities, Fred has also regularly participated in civic and volunteer activities in his local community and church.

Fred earned a B.A. from Amherst College, an M.A. from Wayne State University, and an M.A.R. from Yale Divinity School. He and his wife, Sue, have five grown children and six grandchildren.