Rob Luciani

What’s your current position? Please give a brief overview of what it is you do in your work?

I’m currently Head of Specialty Markets at Empower. Empower is the second-largest Retirement plan recordkeeper by total participants. Serving all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement plan market. I’m responsible for 140 associates - the Relationship Management teams that serve a subset of our Government, Taft Hartley and Largest Corporate and Healthcare clients (totaling approximately $176 billion and 1.7 million participants); and our Retirement Counseling teams that work directly with those plan’s participants to better prepare them for, and through, retirement. I’ve worked in the retirement industry for over 30 years having held Leadership positions with three firms - Prudential, M&T Bank, and now Empower.

What would you say most motivates you to do the work you do?  What are you most passionate about?

There’s a savings and retirement crises in our country. I enjoy being part of an industry that is working hard to close that gap. Especially where we are doing so for the people that help enhance our daily lives, protect us, and keep our economy moving - like Public Safety, Government, Healthcare, Education, and the Trades.

Did you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are?  Tell a bit about them and what they did that influenced you.

I’m a big believer in being and having mentors. Being a Mentor is a great way to give back while keeping your own skills fresh and constantly learning. It’s important to have mentors in your personal and professional life (inside and outside of your organization). The best mentor relationships are where both gain from the experience – they are also the relationships that last the longest. I feel I gain as much from people I mentor, as they gain from me.

How did you learn about Leadership Lackawanna? Describe your experience. What has your involvement with Leadership Lackawanna been post-graduation?

I’m a graduate of the Class of 2000. It was truly a formative experience – from working with a team on a project important to the community, to learning about our region’s success and opportunities, to being introduced to local Leaders. For example, my Leadership Lackawanna mentor, Regina Peters, who at the time worked at the Scranton Cultural Center. I learned much from her, about the SCC and opportunities in the greater community. As a direct result of my participation in the program, and with Regina’s encouragement, it spring boarded me to a life of Community Service that continues. Prior, like many, I would volunteer for the occasional Community clean-up, or event I was personally connected with. Since then though I’ve joined several Boards, Advisory Boards (including Leadership Lackawanna), and logged countless hours of Community service. There’s no doubt it all started with involvement with Leadership Lackawanna.

My team’s class project, by the way, is a bit famous. We received Penn Dot approval, funded, and installed Welcome to Scranton signs which will for ever be memorialized in the opening credits of the sitcom The Office. I think it currently still stand in the Steamtown Mall.