As general counsel of MassMutual, Mark Roellig runs a large, in-house legal department that seeks to position itself as a strategic asset for the business. For him, creativity is king.

“We’re not sitting around in our offices waiting for the phone to ring,” said Roellig, who has been with the insurance and financial services company since 2005. “In the legal department, we really step in and say, ‘How can we advance the business?’”