Jennifer Tierney Connelly is a senior executive, strategic advisor, and emerging board leader whose career has been defined by one consistent theme: building growth engines where others see obstacles. Over more than twenty-five years in financial services and insurance distribution, she has combined strategic vision with hands-on execution, guiding organizations through complex change while keeping people, partnerships, and purpose at the center of her work. From large-scale national distribution networks to insuretech start-ups, she has earned a reputation as a “Swiss Army knife” executive who can think like a board member, lead like a business builder, and operate like a trusted partner.
Jennifer’s path began in retirement services and operations, where early roles at Vanguard and Investors Bank & Trust grounded her in the fundamentals of client service, operations discipline, and financial markets. Those formative years shaped her belief that growth is never accidental—it is built on process, accountability, and a deep understanding of the end client. This operational foundation would become a distinctive advantage as she moved into sales leadership and distribution, enabling her to connect strategy to execution at every stage of her career.
In 2003, Jennifer joined John Hancock, marking the beginning of a fourteen-year ascent through one of the industry’s most respected life insurance institutions. She quickly progressed from Senior Sales Coordinator to National Account Director, then to National Account Vice President, building trust with top firms and producers across the country. In these roles, she learned the art and science of key account development, designing campaigns, data-driven strategies, and relationship models that elevated John Hancock from a challenger to a market leader with many of its largest partners.
As Vice President of U.S. Life Sales & Distribution at John Hancock, Jennifer served as second-in-command to the SVP of Distribution, overseeing more than 800 national accounts and a large team of National Account Managers and Regional Vice Presidents. She drove annual target premium sales exceeding $450 million, helped capture 40% market share with a new life insurance product that quickly rose to #2 in the industry, and co-led the launch of the first-to-market “Vitality” wellness-based life insurance solution, which became the #1 rider in less than two years. Her leadership extended beyond sales performance; she played a key role in cross-functional incubation teams with Product, Operations, and Marketing, shaping innovative solutions that transformed the way insurance products were positioned and delivered.
Recognized externally as well as internally, Jennifer earned multiple President’s Club awards for top sales performance and was honored by LIMRA as one of the Top 25 Rising Stars in Life Distribution. She was invited to serve as a keynote speaker at the John Hancock Leadership Conference for Women and a featured presenter at the Massachusetts Women’s Conference. These experiences reinforced her passion for empowering others—particularly women and emerging leaders—to find their voice, own their value, and drive impact in traditionally conservative industries.
In 2018, Jennifer joined Highland Capital Brokerage, where she expanded her leadership scope into multi-channel distribution, recruitment, and digital transformation. As Vice President of Alternative Distribution and Head of the Consultative Sales Center and Sales Support Teams, she built new distribution channels, created a national consultative sales center, and led a longevity planning platform that delivered double-digit growth and 11% net new revenue. Her work blended strategy with execution: recruiting new firms, developing digital tools, and crafting training programs that improved advisor engagement and client outcomes.
Jennifer’s progression at Highland continued as she became Managing Director of Signature Life & Sales Support, then Head of Business Development, and ultimately Senior Vice President, Head of Relationship Management & Business Development. In these roles, she led institutional B2B relationships across banks, RIAs, independent broker-dealers, and large institutional accounts including JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, UBS, and KeyBank. She oversaw teams of relationship managers and business development VPs, orchestrated top-down distribution strategies, and built business development funnels that turned data analytics into actionable growth plans. Under her leadership, Highland launched 13 major insurance initiatives, deployed more than 500 warm leads to the field, generated over $2 million in new insurance revenue, and added 28 new partner firms in just two years.
Known for her ability to translate strategy into practical frameworks, Jennifer has consistently designed and implemented scalable training programs, onboarding structures, and sales playbooks that live well beyond her direct involvement. She has created idea libraries, scripts, and field deployment models that standardize success across geographically dispersed teams. Her approach to leadership—part strategist, part coach, part operator—ensures that teams are not just inspired by the vision, but are also equipped with the tools, technology, and processes they need to execute.
Today, Jennifer is building the next chapter of her career at the intersection of advisory work, board service, and innovation in insurance and financial services. As a Strategic Advisory Board Member for Empathy, a grief support company serving millions of employees and tens of millions of policyholders, she brings her deep knowledge of individual life insurance distribution, go-to-market planning, and partnership strategy to a mission-driven, high-growth start-up. She advises on business development, market expansion, and distribution strategies that integrate human support with digital resources, ensuring that Empathy’s value is effectively translated into the language of insurers, employers, and advisors.
In parallel, Jennifer leads her own consultancy, Jennifer Connelly Strategic Consultancy LLC, where she provides short-term strategic advisory engagements to organizations seeking clarity, structure, and execution support. She has served as an expert through platforms such as GLG and partnered with organizations including KPMG, Korn Ferry, Catalant, Business Talent Group, MBO Partners, and others. Whether advising on distribution technology, market appetite, adoption barriers, or advisor enablement, she brings a pragmatic lens that blends field-tested experience with forward-looking thinking, including a growing focus on AI, digital platforms, and data-driven decision-making. Her completion of “The Executives Guide to AI – AI for Business Leaders” underscores her commitment to staying ahead of the curve as technology reshapes the insurance and financial services landscape.
Beyond her professional achievements, Jennifer’s values are reflected in her longstanding commitment to community and youth empowerment. As Head of Fundraising and Social Media for the Warren-Prescott School Parents Association, she has led the school’s largest annual fundraiser—consistently grossing $100,000 across multiple years—to support critical educational programming. She also manages communication and engagement through the school’s parent-focused social media presence, ensuring that families and community partners remain informed, involved, and inspired. This work is more than volunteerism; it exemplifies the same leadership, creativity, and relationship-building she brings to corporate environments, applied to the benefit of children and public education.
Internationally, Jennifer’s work has included exposure to markets in Israel, Canada, and Asia, giving her a global appreciation for how regulations, culture, and consumer expectations shape financial services and insurance adoption. She is comfortable operating across complex, matrixed organizations and within cross-border contexts, aligning stakeholders with diverse priorities around shared goals. Her board and advisory aspirations are a natural extension of this global, strategic perspective.
At this stage of her career, Jennifer sees board service not as a title, but as the next evolution of how she can contribute. Having spent decades building, scaling, and transforming distribution organizations, she is driven by a desire to help founders, executive teams, and boards turn ambition into execution while preserving the human dimension of leadership. She is particularly drawn to life insurance, financial services, insuretech, and mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits, that value authenticity, transparency, and collaboration. For Jennifer, serving on boards is a way to give back, share hard-earned experience, and help others thrive and grow.
Beneath the titles and achievements, Jennifer is guided by a simple but powerful orientation: listen deeply, act decisively, and always connect strategy to impact. She has led teams through product launches, market shifts, and organizational restructuring, yet her legacy is measured as much in the careers she has helped shape as in the revenue she has helped generate. Colleagues know her as a trusted thought partner, an advocate for talent, and a leader who shows up with clarity, empathy, and conviction.
Character:
Jennifer’s character is grounded in integrity, reliability, and a sincere desire to help others succeed. She consistently balances high performance expectations with genuine empathy for colleagues, clients, and communities, earning long-term trust with those she leads and serves. Her commitment to volunteerism, youth empowerment, and mission-driven initiatives reflects a personal ethos that leadership is ultimately about service.
Knowledge:
Jennifer brings deep subject matter expertise in life insurance, annuities, LTC, disability, and financial services distribution, reinforced by decades of experience across national accounts and multi-channel platforms. She stays current with evolving industry trends, including digital transformation, AI, and distribution technology, ensuring her insights remain relevant and forward-looking. Her knowledge spans both the strategic and technical aspects of sales, operations, product, and advisor enablement, making her a valuable resource in both executive and advisory settings.
Strategic:
Jennifer has a proven track record of turning abstract growth goals into clear, actionable strategies that drive measurable results. She excels at aligning leadership teams, field organizations, and cross-functional partners around shared objectives while building scalable frameworks for execution. Her ability to see around corners, anticipate market shifts, and design differentiated go-to-market approaches makes her a strategic asset to boards, executive teams, and founders alike.
Communication:
Jennifer is an accomplished communicator who can translate complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives for executives, advisors, partners, and teams. She has served as a keynote speaker, featured presenter, and internal champion for major initiatives, using storytelling and data to drive alignment and action. Her communication style is direct yet collaborative, enabling her to navigate sensitive conversations, build consensus, and inspire confidence across diverse stakeholders.
