Stephen Friend is Head of Enterprise Strategy and M&A at Thrivent, a Fortune 500 diversified financial services organization.
In his role, Friend is responsible for guiding the Executive Leadership Team’s strategic planning, decision-making and prioritization to drive long-term growth for Thrivent. He oversees the organization’s enterprise strategy and execution, mergers and acquisitions, and serves as chief of staff to CEO and President Terry Rasmussen. In his previous role as vice president of corporate mergers and acquisitions, Friend worked closely with the Executive Leadership Team to develop and execute the company’s strategic priorities.
Before joining Thrivent, Friend practiced corporate law at several national firms, including the New York office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison. He spent his career providing financial and legal guidance on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and more.
Friend has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota Children’s Museum, Wallin Education Partners and College Avenue.
Friend lives in Minneapolis, MN, with his wife and daughter.
About
For over 120 years, Thrivent has been helping people build their financial futures and live more generous lives. Today, Thrivent is a Fortune 500 diversified financial services organization committed to providing advice, investments, insurance, banking and generosity programs and solutions to help people make the most of all they’ve been given.
For the last 12 years, Thrivent has been named as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere. As of Dec. 31, 2022, Thrivent had $162 billion in assets under management and advisement, and total revenue of $9.4 billion.