In 2023, there are 123 couples who have been called as mission leaders around the world. These are amazing people! As we’ve had the opportunity to learn more about them, Kimberly and I have often wondered how we ended up on the same list as these incredible couples. 

When the mission leader assignments began to be made in The Church News, we felt a desire to try to meet as many of these couples as we could before we go to the mission leader seminar at the end of June. We began to text or email other mission leaders to see if they would like to meet for dinner to get to know each other.

Our first dinner was with Davis and Asialene Smith and Rob and Debbie Young. After meeting them in early February, we had such a great experience, the desire to meet other leaders only grew, and driving home we said, “Why not try to meet as many of these new mission leaders as we can?” We’ve had so much fun meeting these couples and learning from them. They are a really impressive bunch, and we’ve often wondered how the two of us ended up on the same list as all of them.  

While we have just met these great couples, we feel very connected to them. We are all sharing the same experience, and it is a powerful one. One that has helped unite us and build strong connections to these new friends. We already love and admire them, and hope these friendships will continue a long time into the future.

#WhatsUpInTKM

Sharing this change of plans with my friends and peers at Fidelity has been a really meaningful experience. As I was getting ready to tell my boss, I was surprised at how nervous I felt. After 32 years at Fidelity, there was a finality about telling him I would be leaving. I was also surprised about how sad I felt. While I’m excited about these next steps, my work has been such a meaningful part of my life, it felt sad to see it coming to an end.

There were four groups at Fidelity that I had to share this decision with: my boss, my peers (about 15 people spread across the country), my direct reports (10 people spread across the country), and my leadership team (~170 leaders in 35 locations across the country). In that group, I figured there were about 10 people who would have the context of why we would make this decision. 

I wanted to share this in a way that put this decision in the context of my faith. What I didn’t want is for them to feel like I was just leaving for another job. I hoped they would have some understanding of the sacrifice required, and the motivations behind our willingness to make that sacrifice. 

I began by sharing that a few months ago, our family experienced a very significant and unexpected change. Most recognize that my faith has always been a big part of my life. Faith – Family – Fidelity, those have always been the three F’s that set my most important priorities. 

Most also know that when I was 19, I volunteered as a missionary for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I sent in my application stating I was willing to serve anywhere with really no idea where I would be sent for two years. With over 400 missions in the world, you could go anywhere. I spent the next two years serving people in Hawaii where I gained a great love for the Polynesian people and their culture. The Kikuchis and Perkins, my mission leaders in Hawaii, have been life-long mentors. Looking back over the last 30 years, I can now see this was one of the most important decisions of my life that set the foundation for everything that has followed. 

Because it had such an impact on me, I always hoped my kids would choose to serve as well. Lincoln served 24 months in Singapore/Malaysia speaking Mandarin Chinese, and Rachel served 18 months in Barcelona speaking Spanish. They both had similar, powerful experiences. 

I then shared that at the end of last year, Kimberly and I met with a senior leader of our church where we were asked if we would be willing to serve an unpaid ministry for the next three years to lead a group of missionaries in Knoxville, Tennessee with our daughter Samantha. I explained this was completely unexpected as this is not something you sign up for or express interest in doing, and that there is no compensation, so we don’t have any income for the next three years. While it may not make much sense financially or professionally, we’ve felt this is something we should do as it aligns perfectly with our values, and we are excited and grateful for this opportunity.  

I explained that over the next three years, we will work with ~600 young missionaries in Tennessee and look forward to those relationships and the life-changing experiences we will share together. These are young adults who leave their home and families for 18 or 24 months, and we are entrusted with their spiritual experience, as well as their physical and mental health, and their safety. We will do all we can to help them have the same transformational experience that I had when I was 19 in Hawaii.

So after 32 years at Fidelity Investments, I will be leaving Fidelity in June. Every time I say that out loud, I can’t believe it is really happening, it’s just so unexpected. I can’t adequately express how grateful I feel for everything Fidelity has enabled for me and my family. I love what we do in helping customers with some of the most important goals in their life. I don’t think anyone does that better than Fidelity because of our focus on always putting the customer first. And I’m especially grateful for all of the amazing people I’ve had the chance to work side-by-side with and who have become life-long friends. 

I had a lot of people reach out with questions and wanting to learn more. Almost all express their admiration for this kind of service, and many say they hope to give similar service at some point in their life. 

Here is the link to the LinkedIn post where I shared more broadly what I had shared with my teams at Fidelity.

#WhatsUpInTKM