NN Group: ‘We’re on the journey towards an AI-driven world together, but we need to be honest about the risks’

As an international financial services company – with a primary focus on insurance – NN Group has 16,000 employees across 94 nationalities, with businesses in 10 countries. 

Part of the business’s mission is not just to be financially sound, but also socially relevant, too.

To turn it’s purpose into something people can relate to, Chief People, Communications, and Sustainability Officer Dailah Nihot is bridging the gap between business and humanity.

By aligning the these three sectors, Nihot is helping NN Group connect its day-to-day operations with its deeper mission: To support people through life’s uncertainties, while building a future that’s fair, inclusive, and sustainable.

Ahead of her session at UNLEASH World 2025, Nihot spoke exclusively to UNLEASH to share the inside track.

Navigating a new AI-driven world

As part of her role at the NN Group, Nihot oversees people, communications, and sustainability – three functions that often sit apart. 

Bringing these different disciplines together helps the business create a sense of purpose, while ensuring their policies, and voice are aligned – to both internal and external stakeholder groups. 

She explains: “Hopefully, it helps us show up in the world in a way that feels recognizable, authentic, and human. And, if we can avoid one team launching a campaign while another rewrites the policy it’s based on, that’s a nice advantage too!”

To ensure these commitments align with the NN Group’s talent value proposition, Nihot asks new joiners why they chose the business.

Although she was initially surprised by some of the responses, over the years she found that a consistent theme emerged: the company’s values and culture.

They [new talent] seem to be looking for organizations that stand for something, and where their work makes a difference, bigger than profit alone,” Nihot expands. “Where they feel their personal values align with the values of the company. 

“But I guess that counts for most of us – who wants to feel that they’re wasting time every day on things that don’t really matter?”

She brings this idea back to the role that insurers play in society, stating that although they may not have “flashy reputations,” they are a “good place” for those looking for meaning.

Nihot adds: “We help people deal with life’s uncertainties; supporting someone after the loss of a loved one, or making sure they’re financially protected when things don’t go as planned, for example due to sickness or job loss. 

“An important part of our business is managing pension plans, annuities, and other products that support people throughout retirement – sometimes for 30+ years. So we have to think long-term.”

As a result, NN Group invests in infrastructure, housing, and sustainable projects that benefit society over time. It has also outlined clear ESG policies to help guide those investment decisions. 

Part of these sustainability commitments include social and people components, such as healthy and inclusive workplaces, a work-life balance, attention to wellbeing, and mental health. 

To add to this flexibility and to continue building a healthy workplace, the business permits its employees to work outside of their home country, while also providing pay transparency – even before legislation is enforced. 

Employees are given opportunities to contribute to these wellbeing initiatives, to help foster long-term value and meaning within the business. These attributes are also important when attracting new talent for the business.

“We see people are looking to develop themselves, especially in areas that they think will make a difference in the next decade, such as ESG roles, green innovation, circular economy, sustainable operations – and, of course, tech, data, and AI,” Nihot shares.

“Even though we’re part of the typically risk-averse financial industry, we believe we’re making good progress on AI implementation – and this is also attractive to new talent.”

To show the business is keen to implement AI, it launched a traineeship track focused on tech and AI two years ago. Nihot says that this has seen “unprecedented interest.”

A common topic that crops up among AI conversations is not only how it will impact jobs, but whether it’ll take jobs. 

For Nihot, the future is usually painted in “extreme colors,” with experts either predicting spectacular or apocalyptic outcomes – depending on who expert you ask. However, she insists that the “future is already here”. 

She adds: “Our reality is changing every day, and it feels as though we’re collectively drawing the map as we go. Whatever the future holds, and however quickly it comes, it will likely unfold day by day – and as humans, we’re actually quite good at adapting to change. 

“Just three years ago, I had never heard of AI in the workplace, and now not a day passes without me using it. With most technical changes in our lives, this seems to be the pattern: we adapt and eventually integrate them into our daily routines as if they’ve always been there. For me, that’s somewhat reassuring.”

A diverse and inclusive culture

For the past two years, Nihot has been a member of WOMEN Inc.’s Supervisory Board – a Dutch advocacy organization focused on accelerating gender equality. 

The group promotes inclusive policies, conducts research, and partners with employers and government to create more equitable workplaces.

Although she has recently handed over the role, Nihot describes working with the WOMEN Inc. team and the other Supervisory Board members as a “source of inspiration.” 

She highlights: “Themes such as financial independence of women, breaking taboos and normalizing the conversation around women’s health, and using inclusive language all align very closely with what NN stands for.”

This is particularly important as financial sectors are typically male dominated – even though progress has been made.

“The financial sector is behind most other industries in terms of gender diversity, particularly at the mid-senior levels,” Nihot shares. “At the entry levels in the organization, it’s usually closer to 50/50 – within NN as well.

“We’ve all seen the studies on how having women in senior positions brings different perspectives and different risk approaches, which can lead to more balanced decisions and lower financial volatility. And, of course, it helps if the leadership team represents the overall workforce and better understands diverse customer bases. 

“So, if your talent pool looks like it did 10 years ago, you’re probably in trouble.”

This being said, 41% of senior managers at the NN Group are female, which is a reflection of the company’s strategic targets that are also tied to executive remuneration.

Although Nihot expresses there’s still room for improvement to increase this figure, the company’s goal is specifically focused on its leadership pipeline – investing in women to take the next steps on the career ladder. 

To do so, the NN Group ensures it pays close attention to posting inclusive job descriptions, bias-free hiring, equal pay audits, hybrid work, gender inclusive parental leave, and supporting internal and cross-industry networks for women in finance.

But as AI is becoming more engrained into the workplace, it poses the question: how will it impact recruitment? 

For Nihot, this all depends on how businesses choose to work with it, and how it’s trained and governed. 

For example, if the training data is biased, the AI will learn and replicate those patterns – which can be very damaging.

She says: “We need to be honest about these risks – while also remembering that humans make mistakes too. 

The difference is that with AI, we can build in controls from the beginning. And, in this way, it can also be a powerful tool to reduce bias – by removing subjective human judgment, by flagging non-inclusive or biased language, bias criteria in assessments, or exclusion patterns in selection processes. And it can help find talent in non-traditional platforms.”

She continues to explain that to make sure this is dealt with responsibly and ethically, HR leaders should audit and check their algorithms and data sets, while keeping humans in the loop for decisions. 

Additionally, the NN Group works with DEI experts to develop the ethical tools – which contributes to being an interesting and promising add-on in its recruitment practices.

Concluding, she passes on some reflective thoughts to other HR leaders: “We’re on this journey towards an AI-driven world together. 

“Let’s keep a curious mindset and double down on what technology cannot yet replace: purpose, drive, wonder, having our own point of view – our human superpowers. 

“Because what matters to most people is connection, a sense of belonging, and leaders who care.”

Want to hear more from Nihot?

Taking to the Main Stage on Tuesday 21st October, Nihot will be joined by two other panels from Orange and BBC to discuss The Next Chapter: Reimagining DEI and Sustainability in the Global Workplace.

Make sure you’ve bought your ticket to secure your opportunity to attend this dynamic and unmissable discussion.

Ahead of the event, Nihot says she’s most excited for: “Being in a room full of inspiring people, hearing bold new ideas that make my brain crunch, and seeing and experiencing the future of HR taking shape at incredible speed.”