Celeste Thompson

PLANADVISER: How did you end up in the retirement advisory industry?

Thompson: I always tell people the retirement industry found me. My main goal in practicing law was to make an impact that ultimately helps people. What I didn’t know was what that could look like in the retirement industry.

After an emotional start as a family law attorney, I pivoted to working at an investment advisory firm. With no industry knowledge, I started out working on the business side as a product specialist, working directly with clients to explain complex strategies in a more digestible way. I transitioned into a regulatory compliance and risk management role, becoming a key voice in developing policies, procedures and best practices for not only my business, but for our clients. Today, serving as legal counsel, I get to use all of my client experience knowledge and deep understanding of the rules and regulations to help make a meaningful impact on how our clients are serviced.

PLANADVISER: What leadership skills are most important in operations today?

Thompson: As an operational leader, it’s important to make sound decisions in an ever-changing regulatory environment. As legal counsel, that goes beyond understanding laws such as ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations, but extends to providing appropriate guidance to the business teams, helping manage risk and driving operational excellence.

That starts with being a strategic thinker—connecting day-to-day operations with the long-term business goals; understanding how today’s efficiencies, automations and analytics can help shape the quality of our services and ultimate client outcome; and being adaptable when those metrics change.

Clear and effective communication that provides practical guidance, rather than purely technical legal analysis. As a legal leader, you have to interpret complex legal and regulatory requirements in practical operational terms and balance legal risk with business objectives.

Lastly, having emotional intelligence and building trust with plan sponsors, fiduciary committees, vendors and regulators is vital to being a great leader. At the end of every decision made is a plan participant who is trying to manage a road map for long-term financial success and security. Making decisions built on trust through empathy, fairness, transparency and consistency is the hallmark of a great leader.

PLANADVISER: For people who don’t understand this space, how would you describe your job to get someone excited about pursuing something similar?

Thompson: As legal counsel, you become the intersection of legislative and regulatory changes; business and system implementations; and operational transformation to align retirement plan operations with organizational goals while maintaining compliance. Not only do you to have the opportunity to collaborate cross-functionally with HR, finance, compliance, recordkeepers, TPAs, investment professionals and executive leadership; you are often brought in to evaluate new products, technologies and regulatory changes for operational impact and to understand how recordkeeping systems, workflow tools and analytics support retirement plan administration. Oftentimes, as legal counsel, your role is advisory: (i) explain not only complex legal concepts in language that operational teams, clients and executives can understand, but why they matter; (ii) identify operational, legal and fiduciary risks before they become significant issues; and (iii) develop opportunities to streamline workflows while maintaining regulatory compliance. As legal counsel, you provide legal knowledge and operational discipline to support retirement plan operations with compliance, efficiency and responsiveness in a highly regulated environment.