Northwestern Mutual, a leading financial security company, announced today that Aarti S. Shah, Ph.D., has been appointed to serve on the company’s board. Shah is the senior vice president and chief information and digital officer for Eli Lilly and Company, a global healthcare leader. She is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in advanced analytics and data sciences, technology, cybersecurity, digital transformation, drug development and commercialization.
“Aarti is known for leading a global team of several thousand employees through digital transformation and we welcome her perspective as we further refine our integrated customer experience and data strategies,” said Northwestern Mutual Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer John E. Schlifske. “She understands how digital and non-digital aspects of a customer’s overall experience contribute to relevance in the marketplace and position a business for growth.”
Shah began her tenure at Eli Lilly in 1994 as a senior statistician and was promoted to research scientist in 1999. She attained positions of increasing responsibility, and was promoted to senior vice president and chief information officer in 2016. Shah sits on several nonprofit boards, including the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, Center for Interfaith Co-operation, the Indiana India Business Council and is a trustee of Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care, USA. In 2019 she was named one of four finalists for the 12th Annual MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award and was named CTO of the year by the Indiana Business Journal and TechPoint. She also served on the Northwestern Mutual Policyowners’ Examining Committee in the fall of 2019.
Shah received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in statistics and mathematics in India before earning her Ph.D. in applied statistics at the University of California-Riverside. Her appointment takes effect March 1, 2020.