Jasmine Jirele believes in asking for input from her team and acting on it.

As CEO of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Jasmine Jirele has built a culture of wellness, connection and community engagement. And many of her best ideas come through listening.

“One of the things I enjoy doing personally in my role is, I will sit down with a group of employees from a cross-section of the organization, different functions, different years of service with the company and just have a very informal lunch or coffee chat and say, ‘What’s on your mind?,’” she shared in a recent interview with Chris Benguhe, founder and president of the Dave Alexander Center for Social Capital. “And it’s really interesting to hear firsthand stories from employees about ‘Here’s something that the company did that really helped me be successful, either in my professional life or my personal life,’ or ‘Here are things that I really value about the experience.’ And for me, that’s really motivating and inspiring about the role that we can play as an organization to help bring those resources to bear for people.”

Jasmine took the helm of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America in 2021, after a stint as chief growth officer from 2018 to 2021. She previously served as an executive vice president within Wells Fargo’s Consumer Bank Division.

In her current role, Jasmine has embraced Allianz’s culture of wellness, weaving it into every aspect of the workplace. Employees can tap into benefits such as extended maternity leave, parental/bonding leave and adoption leave for all families; one month of “work from anywhere” time; and an onsite health clinic. She turns to a cabinet of team members for input on the ideal benefits. “If you do the right thing to create a healthy culture, let people have the tools and resources that we can provide as a company to be successful and thrive, that does drive better business results and better outcomes for our customers,” she says.

Social Capital CEOs are known for prioritizing people — employees, customers and community stakeholders. True to that spirit, Jasmine is known for her work in guiding leaders on community engagement strategies. She shared her three-step approach in her essay “Authentic Community Engagement Strategies for CEOs,” recommending that leaders understand the organization’s true impact, align their community engagement strategy with their mission and activate their employees to bring more value to their partnerships.

“I think companies have to give back and be part of creating a healthier ecosystem that we’re all a part of,” she says. “And, of course, community is a really important part of that. When I think about it specific to Allianz, one of the things that’s helped me think about how to approach it and also how to have an impact is, what are the things as an organization that we’re really good at and where can we make the biggest difference?”

Given that her business is focused on creating financial security and financial wellness, and the company has a lot of expertise in that area, she says, “That’s a natural place, then, for us to lend our employees volunteer time, commit money and dollars, and find ways that we can help to create financial wellness and stability in parts of our community where that’s a bigger challenge.”

It’s all part of running a Social Capital company built around helping people. “At the end of the day, one of the things I love about insurance, that I love about financial services as an industry, is that we are able to make a difference,” says Jasmine. You can click on the link below to hear more of the ideas she shares with Chris.