Speakers : Garrett Gleason

Garrett Gleason
VP Enterprise Program Management Office
Thrivent Financila for Lutherans
www.thrivent.com

Garrett is the Vice President of Thrivent Financial for Lutheran’s Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO). In this role, Garrett is accountable for the firm’s corporate planning and for the leadership and management of the organization’s investments in programs and projects. Garrett was selected for this role when the department was chartered in September of 2002. In this capacity, Garrett helps coordinate Thrivent Financial’s annual planning process and leads the execution of over 40 of Thrivent large-scale programs/projects. Garrett’s department also provides a methodology, tools, and advice on project portfolio management, program management, and project management. In summary, Garrett’s department is at the heart of making Thrivent Financial the financial services firm of choice for Lutherans by helping the firm successfully complete strategic and corporate initiatives.

Before leading the Program Office, Garrett was Thrivent Financial’s Customer Relationship Management Strategist. While in this role, Garrett was instrumental in customer management research, strategy development, and growth planning. Prior to the merger of Aid Association for Lutherans and Lutheran Brotherhood, Garrett was the Assistant Vice President of Lutheran Brotherhood’s Field Technology Services Department. In this capacity, he was responsible for delivering and supporting the technology needs of Lutheran Brotherhood’s 2000+ field members. His responsibilities included strategic planning over the tools and technologies for field’s future infrastructure, managing over $7,000,000 in deployed computer assets, and managing over $5,000,000 in technical support services.

Garrett has a Masters of Science Degree, Computer Science, from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Quantitative Methods, from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota.