About Charles Lowrey
Charles Lowrey, Executive Chairman of Prudential Financial, marked the company's 150th anniversary in March 2025 by ringing the opening bell and participating in celebrations. He stated that Prudential's longevity is due to its "North star" of serving customers and providing financial security, and noted that the company has evolved its business mix and operating model to become "higher growth, more capital efficient." Lowrey expressed confidence in the leadership transition to incoming CEO Andy Sullivan, saying the new team has a "really strong foundation" and that he will support them as executive chairman.
In earlier appearances, Lowrey discussed industry challenges including generative AI and changing customer demographics. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he emphasized Prudential's "rock-solid balance sheet" and actions taken to mitigate impacts, including pausing share repurchases and issuing a $1.5 billion green bond. He has also spoken about digital transformation in insurance, describing efforts to create a "simpler customer-focused experience" and using data analytics to predict risk. Regarding international strategy, Lowrey noted Prudential's focus on Asia and Africa, describing Africa as having "tremendous upside" and stating the company committed $350 million to invest in African life insurers.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Charles Lowrey's recent appearances.
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Transcript (8 segments)
I
Interviewer0:10
I guess the market turmoil because of the second and third round effects should not be underestimated in the market.
C
Charles Lowrey0:16
No, I mean the events are obviously horrific and I think they're, as in your opening comments, they're creating volatility and political tensions globally. To your earlier point, we don't have exposure to Europe, let alone Russia and Ukraine. That's not where we do business. We do business now exclusively in Asia and Africa. So the secondary effects you see there are market volatility, potential further acceleration of inflation, those sorts of dynamics. But we're on the other side of the world of that current crisis.
I
Interviewer0:45
Is there anything that you worry about in terms of the markets freezing up? I mean, you lived through the '08 crisis. I did. And so could we see anything similar there?
C
Charles Lowrey0:52
No, there's a big difference. A lot better coordination with global... I think that model is much more sophisticated than it was in '08. It was relationship based. I think this has now got good relationships but also much more technical structure. So that doesn't mean you won't get volatility, right? But I think it changes what people want to invest in and it's a risk-off. We've been a liquid, we're seeing that sometimes as a European stock and we get hit by volatility noise. But in spite of growing sales 8%, new business profits 13%, and as you said, operating income plus 16%. The risk-off piece I think is where you'll see the market go now because that's the consumer sentiment, not just the trader sentiment. And Prudential is now really an Asian-focused business. Actually, it's really important for investors and people that watch us to realize what role will Africa play in this future leadership. When I joined Prudential, this is showing my age, our Asia business was less than 3 million pounds of earnings contribution and it was categorized as other geographically. And now you see the numbers that it's producing. It's one of the largest businesses in the region and it's grown very dramatically. Africa has got the same potential but over a longer time frame. And the team's on their years. I don't think it's that long. I think it'll go faster. Everything about our industry is accelerating faster: consumer preference, regulatory capital models. Technology has made learning faster if you're a regulator, a consumer, a competitor. So I think it's about the political development there, but it's a young...
I
Interviewer3:10
Ukraine, so of course it's always the loss of life that we think about. But there's also now become an economic war between the US, the UK, certain parts of Europe, and Russia. Do you worry that we're going to see some kind of geopolitical concerns being transferred with China? And how do you prevent something happening if geopolitically China becomes more aggressive?
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Charles Lowrey3:31
Yeah, I think the lens always with China that's important is what's in their long-term best interest. They don't tend to react short term. If you look at their history and certainly the history of their current leadership, their moves I think personally, less than a corporate view, are always towards what's the greater benefit of China. The key for China now, you've seen they've produced lower GDP growth rate forecast, which is still in excess of 5%. So they're seeing what's happening to an isolationist Russia now. And I don't think that if you're the smart political leadership, and they have very talented people, they're going to look at that and say we don't need any of this noise, we don't need any of these challenges. They want to grow the economy and you do that by being a part of the world economy, not separating yourselves.
I
Interviewer4:30
You have a joint venture actually in China with CITIC. Does it make sense taking it over completely?
C
Charles Lowrey4:38
I've been public. I would have loved to have bought the whole thing. It's up 24% this year. It's grown almost 40% here in both earnings and in its key metrics since I've been CEO. It's an incredibly successful business now. So they enjoy it too. It has a footprint across all of Asia. In dealing with China, including the political questions you're asking, they're a great partner.
