Shelley Wallace

Senior Financial Services Operations Executive • Distribution Onboarding • Partner Enablement • Regulatory Alignment
Moscow Mills, Missouri, USA 804-314-8188 shelley.w.wallace@gmail.com

Professional Profile

Shelley Wallace is a senior financial services operations executive with more than two decades of experience spanning broker/dealer operations, annuity and insurance distribution, and partner-facing relationship management. Her career has been defined by a consistent ability to bridge operational complexity with strategic clarity — translating regulatory requirements, technology constraints, and business objectives into executable programmes that work for both internal teams and external distribution partners.

She has held vice-president-level roles at Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Stifel Financial, where she led large-scale onboarding initiatives, chaired industry working groups, and drove enterprise-wide adoption of standards including ACORD and DTCC frameworks. She is known for her ability to align stakeholders across legal, compliance, technology, and operations, and for her track record of reducing friction in partner workflows without compromising regulatory integrity.

Career Highlights

Enterprise Standards & Industry Advocacy ACORD · DTCC
  • Championed enterprise-wide adoption of the 951 ACORD form at Allianz, securing alignment across Legal, Compliance, and Operations and engaging directly with ACORD to incorporate required legal provisions into the standardised form.
  • Represented Allianz in industry forums supporting annuity straight-through processing and data modernisation initiatives.
  • Owned DTCC file schema understanding at Stifel Financial, supporting reliable downstream processing and operational continuity across all product lines.
Distribution Onboarding & Partner Enablement 26 B/D Partners
  • Managed operational service relationships with 26 broker/dealer partners at Allianz, serving as primary point of coordination for partner needs, issue resolution, and launch readiness.
  • Coordinated cross-functional resolution efforts across operations, technology, compliance, legal, and risk to reduce partner onboarding friction.
  • Led changes to Letter of Authorization requirements affecting partner workflows, ensuring regulatory alignment while minimising operational disruption.
Operations Leadership at Scale 5,000+ Transactions / Month
  • Led annuity, insurance, and alternative investment operations at Stifel Financial, overseeing 3 direct and 25 indirect reports in a high-volume environment processing 5,000+ transactions monthly.
  • Directed end-to-end operational support for alternative investment indications of interest, investments, capital calls, distributions, annuity in-force transactions, new business, and commission processing.
Training, Capability Building & Team Development Custodial Training Module
  • Co-developed and delivered a custodial training module for operations teams at Allianz, increasing processing consistency and partner support readiness across the broker/dealer channel.
  • Built team capability and operating consistency across complex product lines at Stifel Financial while maintaining service quality, regulatory discipline, and execution at scale.

Professional Experience

Operations Relationship Manager, Vice President
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
Remote / St. Louis, Missouri • November 2021 – March 2026
  • Managed operational service relationships with 26 broker/dealer partners spanning national and regional channels, serving as a primary point of coordination for partner needs, issue resolution, and launch readiness activities.
  • Coordinated cross-functional resolution efforts across operations, technology, compliance, legal, and risk, helping partners progress through onboarding-related and in-market operational requirements with reduced friction.
  • Championed enterprise-wide awareness and adoption of the 951 ACORD form within Allianz, securing alignment and approvals across Legal, Compliance, and Operations.
  • Engaged directly with ACORD to advocate for enhancements, successfully incorporating required legal provisions into the standardized form.
  • Drove enterprise-wide education and implementation, improving consistency, reducing processing friction, and enabling more efficient partner onboarding workflows.
  • Led changes to Letter of Authorization requirements affecting partner workflows, ensuring regulatory alignment while minimizing operational disruption for distribution partners.
  • Co-Developed and delivered a custodial training module for operations teams, increasing processing consistency and partner support readiness across the broker/dealer channel.
  • Represented Allianz in industry forums supporting annuity straight-through processing and data modernization.
Operations Director, Vice President
Stifel Financial
St. Louis, Missouri • March 2013 – November 2021
  • Led annuity, insurance, and alternative investment operations for a major regional broker/dealer, overseeing 3 direct and 25 indirect reports in a high-volume environment processing 5,000+ transactions monthly.
  • Directed end-to-end operational support for alternative investment indications of interest, investments, capital calls, distributions, annuity in-force non-financial and financial transactions, new business, and commission processing.
  • Built team capability and operating consistency across complex product lines while maintaining service quality, regulatory discipline, and execution at scale.
  • Owned DTCC file schema understanding for all products, supporting reliable downstream processing and operational continuity.

Industry Leadership & Service

  • Chair, Annuity Operations Managers' Roundtable (2017–2018); Member (2013–2023)
  • Chair, Life Insurance Operations Managers' Roundtable (2019–2021); Member (2017–present)
  • Chair, IRI Operations & Technology Senior Steering Committee (2017–2018); Member (2014–2024)
  • Co-Chair, IRI Process & Regulation Sub Working Group (2019–2026)
  • Member, DTCC Senior Advisory Board (2014–2023)
  • Member, DTCC Data Strategy Council (2018–2023)
  • Excellence First Team Member of the Year — Wells Fargo Advisors (2009)

Credentials & Professional Tools

Licenses Series 7, Series 63 (previously 66), Series 24, and Life & Health Insurance.
Platforms & Operational Systems DTCC, Schema Platforms, and Beta / Thomson Advisor Workstation.

Career Chronology

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
Operations Relationship Manager, Vice President • 2021–2026
Stifel Financial
Operations Director, Vice President • 2013–2021
Earlier financial services experience
Includes industry recognition from Wells Fargo Advisors and long-term financial services operations leadership.