Ascensus announces a new president, Principal brings in four industry leaders, and Alera Group adds a retirement plan consultant to one of its companies.
Ascensus brings in new president
Ascensus has hired Nick Good, a 25-year financial services industry veteran, as president of the company.
Good will report to David Musto, who will continue to serve as chair and CEO of Ascensus, and will begin his position on September 5.
As president, Good will work directly with the company’s line of business presidents and the digital, marketing and analytics center of excellence, focusing on client success, accelerating commercial activities, business development and partnerships, cross-business opportunities, and overall business performance.
He will be based in the company’s Newton, Massachusetts office.
“Nick’s appointment as president is a strategic investment in our future,” said Musto. “He offers a wealth of leadership experience and is well-versed in growing and optimizing businesses amidst the rapidly changing dynamics of our marketplace today. We look forward to bringing his deep insights and perspective to our company, and to the benefit of all we serve at Ascensus.”
“Ascensus brings a wealth of insights, technology, and expertise to the market, but equally as important in my mind is the enduring impact of its corporate character and mission as an organization,” said Good. “Its Core Values align easily with my own, and I am delighted to be joining such a talented and committed leadership and associate team. I look forward to helping Ascensus continue to deliver exceptional outcomes for partners, clients, advisors, and savers, and achieve even greater success.”
As chair and CEO, Musto will devote more of his time to overall leadership of the Ascensus organization, talent and culture, strategic investment and growth, enhanced delivery of enterprise capabilities, and technology and solution innovation. Consistent with this focus, he will continue to directly oversee the company’s service and operations; technology; corporate development; finance; human resources; and legal, risk and compliance centers of excellence.
Good most recently served as chief executive officer for Pendal Group, a global asset manager publicly listed in Australia, which was sold to Perpetual Limited earlier this year. He assumed that role in 2021 after serving as CEO of its subsidiary J O Hambro U.S. beginning in 2019.
Before joining Pendal, Good was executive vice president and chief growth and strategy officer for State Street Corporation, with responsibility for developing long-term growth and new sources of earnings, including strategy and mergers and acquisition.
Prior to that role, he served as co-head of State Street Global Advisor’s Global Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) business, with primary responsibility for the U.S. and the Americas. Good also championed a number of major initiatives and client wins, most notably the launch of the SPDR Portfolio Series, SSGA’s ultra-low-cost ETFs.
Before joining State Street, Good spent eight years with BlackRock/Barclays Global Investors, primarily as CEO of iShares-Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong, in which he was responsible for all aspects of iShares ETFs in Asia and Australia.
Good began his career as a consultant with The Kalchas Group in London and New York and later The Boston Consulting Group in San Francisco.
He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biochemistry from Oxford University.
Retirement industry leaders join Principal
Principal Financial Group has hired four retirement industry leaders to support the growth strategy of its U.S. retirement business.
Each new hire will be responsible for elevating Principal’s services and support offers in addition to helping increase revenue and profitability for Retirement and Income Solutions.
“Our customers are looking for more sophisticated approaches to run their companies and to provide the best retirement solutions and services to their employees. Each of these new hires reinforces our commitment to working with businesses, advisors, and consultants in strategic and thoughtful ways to maximize trust and value. The experience and knowledge Principal is gaining from each of the industry leaders we have added will help drive our business to new heights of excellence and success,” said Teresa Hassara, senior vice president of workplace savings and retirement solutions at Principal.
All four individuals will report to Hassara.
Jeff Cimini joined Principal as vice president of planning, performance, and transformation to lead operational and business planning. He was previously the head of Voya Financial’s strategy and financial management.
Sean Jordan was hired as head of small- and mid-market segments, overseeing the strategy and customer care relationships for the two segments. His responsibilities include partnering with key support functions to enhance alignment across marketing, sales, product development, and finance to elevate the customer experience.
Jordan will collaborate with Joleen Workman, who is now head of large market segment after previously overseeing all customer segment strategies and retirement operations, to develop the right mix of services and products within their respective segments.
Monica Oswald came to Principal with more than 30 years of experience to serve as vice president of retirement operations. She will also be responsible for continuously modernizing and leveraging technology to help strengthen the digital experiences and resources for customers and employees.
Andrew Matos joined Principal as head of stock plan services to oversee the firm’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and equity compensation plan capabilities. As cornerstones of the total retirement solutions the company offers, Matos will lead the overall strategy and growth of the stock plan services.
Alera Group hires retirement plan consultant
Alera Group has added Norbert Naths as a retirement plan consultant. Naths is joining BCG 401(k) Advisors, an Alera Group company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“We see tremendous opportunity to expand our disciplined approach to clients to the West region,” said Christian Mango, national practice leader, Retirement Plan Services. “Jeff Anderson and the BCG team have knocked the cover off the ball since joining Alera Group exactly one year ago. As a longtime industry pro, Norbert’s talents are an ideal fit as we further extend our reach.”
Naths brings more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, with an emphasis on market development, sales and service of corporate retirement plans. He comes to BCG 401(k) Advisors from Sentry Insurance, where he was a retirement plan specialist leading 401(k) sales in much of the western United States. Prior to that, Naths was with LT Trust, Guardian Retirement, and was the regional sales director for corporate 401(k) plans with Empower Retirement, who was formerly Great-West.
He is a graduate of Lehigh University.
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Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with over six years of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. Amanda received her degree in journalism and government and politics at St. John’s University. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado with her partner. In her free time, Amanda enjoys running, cooking, and watching the latest drama show.
