Top Women in Finance: Diane Yohn

Scott Carlson//November 19, 2013//

Listen to this article

Title: Executive vice president, North Star Resource Group, Minneapolis (since 2009)

Previous: Securian Financial Services, parent company of North Star Resource Group (1979-1988, starting as a management trainee)

Proudest community achievement: Serving as a mentor in TeamWomenMN, a professional networking organization

Education: Bachelor’s in business administration, Drake University (1979)

Family: Married; two sons; two granddaughters

As executive vice president of North Star Resource Group, Diane Yohn oversees about 100 employees and a company managing assets of about $4.5 billion.

Yohn, who is North Star’s highest-ranking woman executive, credits the company’s success to offering a wide array of financial services — including retirement planning, financial planning and life insurance — and tailoring its products and services to the needs of each client.

Custom-tailored services have become more essential as the financial needs of clients have become more complex, she says.

As for her own success, Yohn said a turning point in her career came when she left Securian Financial Services in 1988 to become an assistant field manager at North Star. That was a critical time for Yohn, who had to rebuild her portfolio of clients.

In her new job, “my authority and responsibility were aligned and [that] allowed me to develop as a leader for the agency,” she says.

Since 1979, Yohn has gradually seen more mentoring and support for women in the financial services sector. That has been a plus for a woman who said she has always found the industry rewarding.

“I have fallen in love with this industry and stayed with it,” says Yohn, noting that her current duties include communicating the company’s vision and values across the organization. “I get the opportunity to learn and to be of service to others.”