Wrapping up the month of May, Securian Financial and Nationwide Retirement Solutions announce a new diversity officer and head of operations.
Securian Financial brings in chief diversity officer
Securian Financial has hired Tariq Malik as second vice president and chief diversity officer. Malik joined the company on April 24 and reports to Becca Hagen, Securian Financial vice president for talent management.
According to Securian Financial, Malik is responsible for driving Securian Financial’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy and he co-chairs the Securian Financial DE&I Council with Chris Hilger, Securian Financial chairman, president and CEO. Malik is also responsible for leading the company’s employee engagement and community strategies, including volunteerism and corporate giving.
“We are delighted to welcome Tariq Malik to Securian Financial. Tariq’s passion, expertise and proven track record of driving impact in this work make him the perfect person to lead the next chapter of our diversity, equity and inclusion journey,” said Hagen.
Malik joins Securian Financial from Target Corporation, where he worked for 16 years in positions of increasing responsibility in DE&I and human resources. Most recently, since 2019, Malik served as Target’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion, where he managed a team of consultants across analytics, operations, communications and research in support of Target’s DE&I strategy and goals.
Malik’s previous work with Target included creating and managing Target’s diversity analytics team from 2011 to 2019.
Malik earned his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is the former board of directors chair for Emma Norton Services, a St. Paul-based nonprofit that provides transformational housing and growth for women and families in recovery. Malik is a frequent speaker and panelist at national and local DE&I industry events.
Nationwide selects operations lead
Cheryl Thompson was selected to lead Nationwide Financial’s Retirement Solutions Operations team. In this role, she will lead retirement plan support services for the company.
Thompson takes over for Wendy Shaw, who will lead the Nationwide Shared Business Solutions team. According to Nationwide, Thompson has been with the firm since 1989, and most recently as vice president of Retirement Solutions Operations.
“Cheryl’s passion for the business will help an already high-performing team become even better,” said Eric Stevenson, president of Nationwide Retirement Solutions. “She is driven to propel Retirement Solutions to even higher experience levels in how we serve participants, plan sponsors and partners.”
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