Lily Beck, Employee Benefits Consultant

Lily Beck came to TPG with a BS in management from Oregon State University. She joined the team in 2020 as part of the Ignite program designed for new college graduates that provides outstanding opportunities for emerging sales professionals. Today, Lily considers her interpersonal relationship skill to be a valuable asset and she enjoys making sure that both the client and their employees are taken care of with intent and grace.

Enjoy this article she wrote about her unlikely path to insurance.

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“Have you ever thought about a career in insurance?”

Honestly, no. But I was not going to admit that. I was sitting across the table from Karla Thommen, TPG’s managing director of people operations, in my first-round interview for a position TPG called a “marketing coordinator.” I had turned down a full-time role at a large retail chain because my gut instinct told me that something else was out there. But was that something in insurance?

I was silently panicked over the thought of what would come post-graduation if I didn’t receive another offer. When I met Karla at an Oregon State University (go beavs) Career Fair, we were originally planning an event for a student organization that I led. TPG offered me an interview, and eventually a full-time position, in a recent college graduate program called Ignite. Unsure what this was or, truthfully, even what The Partners Group did, I agreed simply because they seemed like good people who really cared about their work.

Fast forward nearly five years to today. I am writing this article at TPG headquarters, drinking a coffee from our fancy coffee machine, sitting in an office with a name insert that reads: Lily Beck, Benefits Consultant. It feels weird, but I love it so much.

My years at TPG have been packed with so much of everything – wonderful people, growth opportunities, mistakes, successes, and most importantly, the ability to try new things.

I always knew I needed to work with people and from day one, everyone around me at TPG knew that and helped me lean into it. I fell in love with working with our clients in my first role as a client service coordinator in the employee benefits division. I saw the relief we were able to provide busy HR teams when we could answer a question or help with a claim that had been stuck in processing for months. I saw how our clients didn’t dread our monthly meetings and felt comfortable enough to have hard conversations. As I took on accounts of my own as an associate account manager, I continued to fall in love with being a problem solver for our clients and building that relationship.

During this time, I had the opportunity to test a managerial role by leading our Implementation Team. This time was an invaluable experience as I learned so much about what I enjoyed about our value to clients and what I missed as I leaned away from being truly client-facing. At this point, a pivot was needed. I wanted to be in a position where I could see the long-term development of my client relationships and continue to be the “bat phone” for my clients who would eventually become friends. Implementation was also a great way for me to get a vast scope of knowledge in different industries, benefits orientations, vendors, carriers, size segments, and started to build some confidence that I may have sort of an idea of what I’m talking about. As I looked forward, I wanted to get back to working closely with clients and facilitate driving strategic benefits decisions.

Through all these positions, I saw that TPG can fix many problems that other brokerage firms may not have the expertise to advise on. I watched our extremely experienced account managers and consultants move insurance mountains for their clients and see how they care for them like their own friends and family. Starting in a place of complete ignorance of what TPG did, I was inspired to see how we do our work differently, with best-in-class resources, intentional strategies, and a sincere human touch. I see our value. I see how we make a difference for employees and businesses. I see where TPG is going and how we are on track to be “The Best in The West.” I feel the honor and I am privileged to be a part of it.


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