Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

About Concordia Plan Services

Concordia Plan Services (CPS) provides health, retirement, disability, and other employee benefits to workers and ministries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). CPS manages $5.0 billion in plan assets with over 70,000 plan participants. CPS uniquely serves its church-based constituency with the responsibilities of missional integrity, operational excellence, and financial stability.

Position Summary

The CEO of CPS is responsible for leading the organization through a complex environment while staying deeply aligned with the values and mission of the LCMS. The CEO must continue to deliver financial stability and growth while championing service, trust, and innovation for LCMS ministries.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic and Visionary Leadership
• Define and champion a compelling long-term vision for CPS.
• Develop and lead forward-thinking strategies to navigate a complex environment, emerging technologies, and evolving demographic and economic pressures.
• Lead CPS through ongoing transformation—balancing innovation with theological and cultural alignment to the Synod.
• Identify and execute new growth opportunities within and beyond traditional benefit offerings.
  
  

Operational and Financial Oversight

• Preserve financial solvency across all benefit plans.
• Proactively manage inflationary pressures, pricing models, and plan sustainability.
• Drive the implementation of technological innovations to improve efficiency and service experience.
  
  

Organizational Development and People Leadership

• Inspire, develop, and retain a high-performance leadership team aligned with CPS’s mission.
• Oversee succession plans across key departments for organizational continuity and resilience.
• Foster a “Top Workplace” mission-driven culture, creating an engaged workplace experience to care for LCMS ministries and workers.
  
  

Stakeholder and Church Engagement

• Serve as a trusted representative of CPS to LCMS leadership, agencies, congregations, and workers.
• Communicate transparently with stakeholders, particularly during organizational change or crisis.
• Maintain and grow CPS’s influence in the broader church benefits community.
  
  

Key Technical Competencies

• Visionary Leadership - High ability to unify strategy and mission.
• Strategic Execution - Lead effectively amid market and regulatory complexity.
• Executive Decision-Making - Strong analytical and decision-making skills, aligned with mission values.
• People Leadership - Foster a “best in class” culture, team alignment, and succession depth.
• Executive Influence - Demonstrate clear, persuasive communication tailored to diverse stakeholders, including boards, LCMS leaders, customers, and employees, and effectively navigate relationships and escalated issues, including crises with stakeholders.
• Financial Acumen - Guide fiduciary and plan stability decisions.
  
  

Cultural and Personal Leadership Qualities

• Mission-Aligned
• Empathetic Communicator
• Humble and Selfless
• Trust Builder
• Relationship Builder and Connector
• Resilient and Adaptable
  
  

Qualifications

• A member in good standing of an LCMS congregation, faithful to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, and supportive of the Synod’s Constitution, Bylaws, resolutions of the Synod in convention, practices, and policies.
• Bachelor’s degree required. A Master's in Business Administration degree, or equivalent, is preferred.
• 15 years of professional experience, including 5 years in an executive leadership capacity, ideally in nonprofit leadership, employee benefit plans, or mission-aligned financial services, is desired.
• The ability to navigate faith-based or values-driven organizational dynamics.
• Experience in stakeholder-heavy governance environments.
• Demonstrated experience with employee benefit plans (retirement, health, life, disability, etc.) is preferred.