David S. Royal

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial & Investment Officer

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David Royal is executive vice president, chief financial & investment officer and treasurer of Thrivent, a Fortune 500 diversified financial services organization.

As chief financial & investment officer, Royal is responsible for maintaining Thrivent’s ongoing financial strength and stability, ensuring the organization strategically manages its resources to deliver on the financial promises made to clients, generate financial returns, and drive organizational growth.

In his role, Royal oversees all finance, actuarial, asset management, product and investment solutions for the organization. He is responsible for Thrivent’s financial management, business risk management and corporate mergers and acquisitions. He is also responsible for the teams who manage Thrivent’s general account and who are behind Thrivent’s award-winning mutual funds, for which Royal serves as president and a director. With a focus on providing comprehensive insurance, wealth management, investment and banking solutions, Royal and his team provide Thrivent clients with solutions, programs and advice to help them achieve financial clarity, enabling lives full of meaning and gratitude.

Since joining Thrivent in 2006, Royal has held a series of progressive leadership roles within the organization, including serving as deputy general counsel of Thrivent and chief legal officer of Thrivent’s mutual funds, then as president of Thrivent Mutual Funds and—since 2017—as chief investment officer. Before coming to Thrivent, Royal was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, an international law firm.

Royal also has been an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School since 2008, where he teaches investment management law. He also serves as a board director and chair of the investment committee for the YMCA of the North and has held a variety of leadership positions at his church.

Royal received his bachelor’s degree from Yale College and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

He lives in Orono, Minnesota, with his wife, Stacey, and their two sons.