Deanna Mulligan retired this month after 10 years as chief executive of Guardian Life Insurance, a policyholder-owned company that last year recorded $1.7 billion in annual income. She has been a regular on the Crain’s Most Powerful Women list since 2011 and last year was the only female CEO among the city’s Fortune 500 companies, though Coty’s new CEO, Sue Nabi, joined her this year. Mulligan’s new book, Hire Purpose: How Smart Companies Can Close the Skills Gap, warns that shortcomings in employee training could leave millions of jobs unfilled by 2030.
What drove your decision to retire from Guardian?
When I became CEO—well, president—almost 10 years ago, I said 10 years was my outside limit of how long I wanted to stay. I think that’s a long time for someone to lead a big company, and it’s great to make room for someone with new ideas.