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Vickie Bulger wants her team to be ready for every opportunity and the future. The senior vice president and insurance chief compliance officer at Primerica Life Insurance Company (where she has been since 1988) knows how impactful it can be to have a leader who looks out for their people, because she’s experienced it.
“Early on, I had a manager who made a decisive difference in my having a career in compliance,” Bulger explains. “I was new in the compliance role, and he suggested that I should go interview at another company.”
The news hit Bulger hard. A boss recommending that a junior leave the company was surely a sign that her performance was lacking, or that she wasn’t a good fit for the role, right?
“I asked what I had done wrong, and he said it was exactly the opposite,” she remembers. “He told me I had maxed out the scope of the role and while he couldn’t pay me more, he still wanted to see me progress in my career. ‘I set up a job interview for you tomorrow at two,’ he said. ‘If you want to go, go, and if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.’”
“A growth mindset keeps you improving and makes you better suited for your current and future roles. When an opportunity presents itself, you are going to be ready to grab it. Being prepared is what’s most important.”
Vickie Bulger
It’s one thing to want the best for your people, but something else entirely to book the job interview on their behalf. Bulger took the interview and, unsurprisingly, landed the job as a senior submission specialist. It was where she gained more experience in financial services and acquired the acumen that made her ready when the call from Primerica came.
Bulger hasn’t ever forgotten what a leader did for her, and she wants to inspire as many others as she can.
“I love to see members of my team participating in additional training for the financial services industry,” she says. “A growth mindset keeps you improving and really makes you better suited for your current and future roles. When an opportunity presents itself, you are going to be ready to grab it. Being prepared is what’s most important.”
Bulger says some of her favorite moments are when she’s able to see someone that’s new to compliance begin their education and then watch their evolution into a compliance professional occur in real time.
One gets the impression that Bulger would make a great teacher, not only because of her enthusiasm for seeing others progress but also her own excitement in helping grow those skills. Bulger’s love of her field is evident almost immediately.
“I have a lot of energy about compliance and education,” she says. “I just love what I do, so I love to help people access information and see how they’re able to apply it in their own lives.”
Bulger has put those decades of compliance leadership to great use both inside and outside of Primerica. She has served as a board member for both the Compliance and Ethics for Life Insurers (CEFLI) and the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES) Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering an effective insurance marketplace in the US through education, dialogue, and outreach.
“From a compliance perspective, we can’t do it alone. We all need to pull together to make sure we have a compliant culture. And I love to see that culture continue to grow.”
Vickie Bulger
Bulger is always ready to sit for or moderate a panel, or just attend an event with like-minded professionals looking to grow in a field that is constantly changing, whether it be rules, regulations, or emerging risks developing over the natural progression of time.
Within Primerica, Bulger is proud to have helped shape the company’s culture of compliance into one that is felt throughout the business. Through training, monitoring, compliance materials, and team meetings, she says that compliance is top of mind at Primerica.
That tone has come from the top, Bulger says, but its implementation and integration into the responsibilities of all Primerica employees is what matters most.
“I’m proud to be part of an organization where people want to work together to do what’s right,” she says. “From a compliance perspective, we can’t do it alone. We all need to pull together to make sure we have a compliant culture. And I love to see that culture continue to grow.”
A culture of compliance doesn’t just cover the basics, it goes on to better serve Primerica’s clients, protect its Primerica representatives, and support the life insurance products the company has been providing since 1977.
Like No One’s Watching
Vickie Bulger has a wall full of compliance certifications, but her skill set doesn’t end there—it extends all the way to the dance floor. She can be found line dancing as a way to exercise and unwind, a hobby she picked up because it was something she could do whenever she wanted, no partner necessary.
Whether it’s a casual neighborhood gathering or more formal event, you can count on Bulger to be ready to show newcomers the right steps.
The latest craze, the Jerusalema (spurred by the song of the same name by Master KG), has become a worldwide phenomenon, with flight attendants, medical staff, firefighters, and many more filming their versions of the dance. When asked if she’d be willing to provide her own take, Bulger politely declined with a laugh. “Remember when they say, ‘Dance like no one’s watching?’ I think we’ll keep it that way.”
It has been a pleasure to work with Vickie and other Primerica executives to enhance diversity, inclusion, and fairness at the company. As senior vice president and insurance chief compliance officer, Vickie is a role model for other women and minorities at Primerica. Jackson Lewis P.C. congratulates Vickie on this well-deserved recognition.
