Corporate Roundup: Prudential Appoints CEO, Vanguard Senior Leader to Retire
This week, Prudential appoints a new CEO, Vanguard announces the retirement of a senior leader, and Nationwide launches a new retirement income feature on its platform.
Prudential Appoints CEO
Prudential Financial, Inc. has appointed Andrew Sullivan as its next CEO, effective March 31, 2025.
Sullivan, who currently serves as executive vice president and head of International Businesses and Global Investment Management, will succeed Charles F. Lowrey. Lowrey will remain as executive chairman of the Board for 18 months, working with the board and supporting and advising Sullivan.
Sullivan currently oversees both the company’s International Insurance segment and PGIM, the firm’s $1.4 trillion global investment management business. Since joining the company in 2011, he has held several leadership positions, including heading all of the firm’s U.S.-based businesses.
“Andy is an exceptional leader who brings a deep understanding of our businesses, our strategy, our people, and our customers to this role, and I have every confidence that he is the right leader to take Prudential into the future,” said Lowrey. “As we approach the 150th anniversary of Prudential’s founding, now is the right time to elevate the next generation of leadership, and I look forward to continuing to support Andy in my role as Executive Chairman.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this company as it embarks on its next chapter,” said Sullivan. “I would like to thank Charlie and the Board of Directors for their confidence and trust in me. Under Charlie’s leadership, Prudential has made substantial progress towards becoming a higher growth, more capital-efficient company, refined its business mix, invested in technology, and innovated new products. I look forward to working with Prudential’s leadership team and employees to advance our strategy and expand Prudential’s position as a leader in investing, insurance, and retirement security,” said Sullivan.
Having led Prudential’s U.S. Businesses since 2021, Caroline Feeney will expand her role to become global head of insurance and retirement, a newly created position overseeing Prudential’s market-leading domestic and international insurance and retirement businesses, effective March 31, 2025. Feeney and incoming head of PGIM Jacques Chappuis will both report to Sullivan in his role as CEO.
“We see significant synergies across our U.S. and international insurance and retirement businesses and bringing these capabilities together in one global division under Caroline’s leadership will create additional opportunities for collaboration and growth. I want to congratulate her on this expanded role,” said Sullivan.
The Board also announced that Vice Chair Robert Falzon will step down, effective March 31, 2025, and retire from Prudential, effective July 11, 2025. Falzon’s 42-year career with Prudential has seen him serve as executive vice president and CFO of Prudential, as well as company treasurer and managing director of PGIM Real Estate, head of PGIM’s Global Merchant Banking and Global Real Estate Securities groups and CEO of its European business.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Charlie for his leadership and continued commitment to Prudential,” said Michael A. Todman, Prudential’s lead independent director. “Among many other achievements, Charlie was the principal architect of a complex strategic transformation that has positioned Prudential to be a nimble, dynamic, and high-growth company for years to come. After thoroughly considering a diverse array of candidates for the CEO role, the Board is confident that Andy is the right leader to continue this progress. I also want to thank Rob for his leadership and his many contributions to Prudential and wish him well in his retirement.”
Vanguard Senior Leader to Retire
Vanguard announced that Karin Risi, managing director and head of Strategy, Product, Marketing, and Communications, intends to retire at the end of 2024 after 27 years at the firm.
Joining Vanguard in 1997, Risi has led businesses and enterprise strategic functions across the firm’s corporate, institutional, and individual investor divisions. Upon joining Vanguard’s senior leadership team in 2015, she was appointed managing director of Vanguard Personal Investor, responsible for business strategy, client experience, and brokerage and wealth management services for Vanguard’s individual investors. Risi led Vanguard’s entry into the scalable advice market with the launch of Vanguard Personal Advisor, the firm’s advisory offer aimed at increasing access to affordable wealth management.
Risi was involved in the launch of Vanguard’s Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success more than 15 years ago, and sponsors Vanguard’s talent oversight efforts aimed at strengthening and developing the firm’s future pipeline of diverse leaders. She has been recognized by Barron’s as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance for five consecutive years since the award’s inception.
“As a long-tenured Vanguard leader and member of our executive team, Karin is widely respected for her significant contributions and impact across the firm,” said Vanguard Chief Executive Officer, Salim Ramji. “Karin led the development of our Personal Advisor offer, helping to democratize advice. She has successfully expanded our portfolio of more than 400 mutual funds and ETFs to better meet clients’ needs. We will miss her valued counsel at our executive table.”
“Being a Vanguard leader for nearly three decades has been an incredible honor,” said Risi. “I am looking forward to this next chapter, and I am extremely proud of the role I’ve played in developing a new generation of leaders and providing investors access to top-quality investment products and affordable advice, helping millions of people achieve financial security.”
Nationwide Retirement Launches Income Tool
Nationwide Retirement Solutions has launched its new My Income & Retirement Planner, a personalized experience that can help users understand their savings and how it translates into retirement income.
The planning tool is designed for individuals at any stage of their retirement journey by catering to simple and complex needs. Key features allow participants to:
- Access one comprehensive planner that can help with retirement planning and financial planning needs including retirement income in retirement
- Receive a Chance of Success score based on Monte Carlo simulations
- Explore common “what-if” scenarios to see how they may impact their Chance of Success score
- Review and compare withdrawal strategies from multiple sources of retirement assets
Other features include a healthcare cost and other retirement expenses estimator, an estate planning checklist, aggregation of external account and asset information, and coaching alerts for helpful tips and suggestions.
“We know from working with millions of participants that today’s savers view their retirement plan as so much more than just a savings vehicle,” said Hutch Schafer, vice president of Business Development for Nationwide Retirement Solutions. “They want to know if they are on track, steps they can take to optimize their chance of success – and most importantly, how their savings will translate to financial security in retirement. My Income & Retirement Planner empowers them to understand their options and simplify the retirement income challenge.”
My Income & Retirement Planner may be used in a self-serve capacity using the Digital Coach capability or with the help of one-on-one support from trained retirement specialists.
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