Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America hosts inaugural ‘Multicultural University’.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America’s inaugural “Multicultural University”, held on September 16-18, 2007 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand and Casino, was a resounding success – attended by nearly 700 financial professionals. The purpose of the national event, which had international presence, was to provide sales and marketing strategies to insurance professionals in order to help grow their business in multicultural markets. A Post University Campaign has been developed by Allianz to encourage and measure productivity of the attendees.

An overwhelmingly positive response from attendees about the keynote and motivational speakers, emphasizing the theme, “People, Passion, Potential”, empowered the audience.

The audience heard from Allianz Chairman, Jan Carendi, President, Chuck Kavitsky and Chief Business Development Officer, Vince Vitiello speak on Allianz’s commitment, innovation, and customer focused direction to multicultural markets.

Attendees had numerous workshops to choose from along dual tracks of Marketing and Sales. The goals of these workshops included: Gaining cultural insights to better understand the life experiences and points of view of multicultural customers; Learning effective marketing strategies that will allow financial professionals to tap into these rapidly expanding markets; and Motivating financial professionals to be more successful by providing access to new research and teaching new skills.

“At Allianz, we believe in developing and educating people about financial independence and feel strongly about reaching out to multicultural markets, which have traditionally been missed by the insurance industry,” said Baron Carr, Allianz Vice President Branding and Multicultural Marketing. “Multicultural University focused on equipping insurance professionals with the skills necessary to successfully serve consumers from diverse backgrounds. Considering the ongoing growth of the multicultural market, these skills will become essential for financial professionals looking to expand their business,” added Carr.

Nine speakers were showcased, all of whom are leading experts in sales, marketing, and technology. Speakers included:

Walter Bond (Motivational Speaker), Business Consultant and Former NBA Player; Keith Clinkscales (Keynote Speaker), SVP & General Manager, ESPN Publishing; Bill Duffy (Keynote Speaker), President, BDA Sports; Jeffrey Gitomer, Chief Executive Salesman, BUY Gitomer Inc.; Roxanne Emmerich, CEO, Emmerich Group; Terry Slattery, CEO, Slattery Sales Group; Terry Brock, President & CEO, Achievement Systems Inc.; Sara J. Stadtherr, Sr. Consultant, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America; Janet Crenshaw-Smith, Co-founder/President, Ivy Planning Group

As next steps, Allianz has an extensive communication plan for the attendees to continue their engagement in Multicultural Markets.

“Allianz strongly believes that having more insurance professionals embrace multiculturalism is good for the industry and makes smart business sense. It is both a social responsibility and a needed business discipline to ensure success now and in the future,” said Carr.