Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. will not stage an in-person 2020 annual meeting because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic – another blow to Milwaukee area hotels, restaurants and attractions.
The virtual meeting, with agents and their families remaining at home, will replace the traditional meeting format, the company announced Monday.
That means around 12,000 people – and their money – will not be traveling to Milwaukee for the city’s largest annual event.
The 2019 gathering had an estimated economic impact of $13.2 million for the local economy, with participants filling hotel rooms, restaurants and tourist attractions during their visit.
Canceling the in-person format was a difficult decision, said Betsy Hoylman, senior director of corporate communication.
But the company’s highest priority has been to protect the health of its workforce and people in surrounding communities, she said.
“Although the threat of COVID-19 may improve over the summer, it’s necessary for us to make our decision with currently available public health data,” a company statement said.
“We feel it’s best for our employees, our financial advisors who travel here from all over the U.S., and for the Milwaukee community that we meet online,” according to the statement.
The company has hosted its annual meeting in Milwaukee every year since 1877 -suspending it only during World War II.
“We are scheduled to be back at Fiserv Forum in July 2021 and hope the public health outlook allows us to resume our annual tradition,” according to the statement.
The virtual meeting will be Aug. 10-12. Northwestern Mutual traditionally holds the annual meeting in July.
But the company last year agreed to move the meeting to August to help accommodate the Democratic National Convention, which was initially set for July at Fiserv Forum.
However, the DNC was rescheduled for the week of Aug. 17 in response to pandemic concerns. And some party officials have said that also could be converted to a virtual format.
Milwaukee County is Wisconsin’s largest travel destination. Visitors in 2019 spent an estimated $2.2 billion in the county – roughly 16% of total state spending by visitors.