Thrivent CEO’s Quest to Build Financial Security for Millions of People

When a catastrophe strikes, Thrivent president and CEO Terry Rasmussen is known for acting quickly, calmly, and decisively.

That’s what Paul Johnston observed on Sept. 11, 2001, after terrorists crashed airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Johnston was on his second day of a new job as vice president and group counsel with American Express, and Rasmussen was his new boss. He was flying from Minneapolis to New York City when his plane landed in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with no explanation.

He called Rasmussen, who told him about the attacks. Then she instructed him to locate the property insurance policy on the World Financial Center, where American Express was housed, across from the burning World Trade Center. She also asked him to gather information on accident insurance coverage for business travelers who carried American Express cards. She knew it was likely that some of the passengers on planes commandeered by terrorists had coverage.

“I [was] still a fairly young lawyer,” Johnston recalls. “She could tell quickly I was hitting a panic mode.” Rasmussen had also told Johnston that she needed him to be on a phone call with the general counsel and CEO of American Express.

“She said, ‘Paul, I trust you. I hired you for your judgment,’ ’’ Johnston recounts of the conversation that’s seared in his memory. The pair’s working relationship, born during a crisis, is still going strong nearly 24 years later. Now Johnston works for Rasmussen as Thrivent’s executive vice president, chief legal officer, general counsel, and secretary.

He’s chosen to work with Rasmussen for so many years because of whom she hires and how she supports and leads employees in the workplace. “She looks for the best, most learning-agile people she can find,” he says.

“She is clear on what she expects from them, gives them the tools to get the job done, and leaves them alone to do the job,” Johnston says. “She checks in on how they’re doing and holds them accountable. It seems so simple, but it’s so empowering.”

In the leadership spotlight

Rasmussen has made a deep imprint on Thrivent, a Fortune 500 not-for-profit financial services organization. She joined Thrivent as general counsel in 2005 and became CEO in late 2018. Rasmussen now leads a business with $193 billion in assets under management in 2024.

She’s one of the most prominent women business leaders in Minnesota. Only two other women are CEOs of Minnesota-based Fortune 500 companies—Corie Barry of Best Buy and Beth Ford of Land O’Lakes. On April 15, Gunjan Kedia will join this elite club when she succeeds Andy Cecere as CEO of U.S. Bancorp.

In January, Rasmussen became the new chair of the H.B. Fuller board, making her one of the few women in the nation to lead the board of a public company.

“She looks for the best, most learning-agile people she can find. She is clear on what she expects from them.”

—Paul Johnston,…