July has been an active month for new appointments and promotions among retirement industry companies. Here’s a quick rundown on some of the more notable recent moves.
Heather Lavallee appointed president and CEO-elect at Voya Financial
Voya Financial, Inc. announced earlier this month that its board of directors has appointed Heather Lavallee, 52, currently chief executive officer (CEO) of Voya’s Wealth Solutions business, to succeed Rodney O. Martin, Jr., 70, as the company’s CEO as part of Voya’s planned succession process.
Lavallee, who has been appointed Voya’s president and CEO-elect, will become CEO on Jan. 1, 2023, when Martin, who also serves as chairman of Voya’s board of directors, will assume the role of executive chairman. Lavallee has also been appointed to Voya’s board of directors.
“As the CEO of our Wealth Solutions business—which delivered record earnings during 2021—and in her prior business leadership roles, including leading what is now our Health Solutions business—where she significantly grew earnings during a five-year period—Heather has distinguished herself as an extraordinary executive focused on growth, innovation and culture,” Martin said . “Working closely with me, our board and our entire management team, Heather has played a vital role in shaping and driving Voya’s enterprise growth strategy—and is well-prepared to lead its continued execution and evolution going forward.”
Prior to leading Voya’s Wealth Solutions business, Lavallee served as president of Voya’s Tax-Exempt Markets and, prior to that, as president of the company’s Employee Benefits (now Health Solutions) business. Lavallee’s 30-year career also includes leadership roles at Mutual of Omaha and Sun Life New York Insurance and Annuity Company before she joined Voya in 2008.
Lincoln Financial names James Reid EVP, Head of Workplace Solutions
Radnor, Pa.-based Lincoln Financial Group recently announced that James Reid will be joining the company in August as Executive Vice President, Head of Workplace Solutions, to lead the organization’s Group Benefits and Retirement Plan Services businesses.
Reid will report to President and CEO Ellen Cooper, and will be a member of the company’s Senior Management Committee. Lincoln also named internal leader Ralph Ferraro to head its Retirement business, reporting to Reid.
As the Head of Workplace Solutions, Reid will be responsible for the strategy and executive leadership of these two core business lines for Lincoln, which offer a variety of products and services to employers and their employees—including financial protection solutions such as life, disability and supplemental health products, retirement savings solutions such as employer-sponsored retirement plans, in-plan guaranteed income and stable value solutions, and holistic financial wellness offerings.
Reid comes to Lincoln from Versant Health, a subsidiary of MetLife, where he served as President and CEO. Prior to leading Versant, he held several senior leadership roles at MetLife for the past decade, most recently as EVP and Head of Global Employee Benefits. He has been in the industry for 30+ years and has broad and deep leadership experience in worksite-focused businesses, across many functions including product strategy and development, underwriting, distribution, customer service, claims and operations.
“James is incredibly seasoned with deep industry knowledge—he is an ideal leader to guide these businesses to foster growth and innovation for our employer clients and their employees, as we continue to build a superior and unique customer experience,” said Cooper. “Continuing to align these two employer-focused businesses will enable strong collaboration and will position us well to further build our portfolio of group benefits and retirement solutions and our robust suite of financial wellness offerings.”
Ferraro will be stepping into an expanded role at Lincoln Financial as Senior Vice President and Head of Retirement Plan Services, reporting to Reid. This new role enables one leader to focus holistically, end-to-end, on the company’s Retirement business. Ferraro joined Lincoln Financial in 2016 as Head of Retirement Product Solutions, and in 2021, he took on a combined leadership role in the Workplace Solutions organization with additional leadership of the company’s Group Benefits Product and Underwriting functions. Ferraro has more than 25 years of industry experience, and prior to Lincoln Financial, he held leadership positions at Voya Financial and CitiStreet.
Principal Financial names Teresa Hassara to lead workplace retirement business
Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Financial Group announced this month that retirement industry veteran Teresa Hassara, will join the company to lead its workplace savings and retirement business. As a senior vice president in Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS), Hassara will report to Chris Littlefield, president of RIS, effective August 8.
Hassara has spent more than 25 years helping shape workforce retirement solutions. Prior to joining Principal, she held leadership roles at several retirement providers—FuturePlan by Ascensus, president (2021-22); MassMutual, head of workplace solutions (2017-20); and TIAA, president of institutional retirement (2009-16).
“Teresa is an experienced leader and advocate for advancing retirement benefits. We’re excited for her leadership as Principal continues to invest and grow our retirement offerings to employers, their employees, and individuals alike,” Littlefield said. “Teresa’s track record in the industry and focus on innovation, talent development, and service to customers aligns with our core values and will support the growth of our retirement business.”
Ascensus announces pair of key promotions
Dresher, Pa.-based TPA Ascensus announced this month that current Head of Sales Kasey Price has been named President of FuturePlan, effective August 1, 2022, replacing the above-mentioned Teresa Hassara.
Price, who has served as head of Sales for FuturePlan since January 2021, will report directly to Ascensus President and CEO David Musto and join Ascensus’ Operating Committee, the company’s executive leadership team. FuturePlan is a national retirement TPA dedicated to helping advisors, recordkeepers, and plan sponsors deliver better outcomes for savers.
“One of the many valuable attributes Ascensus brings to those we serve is the breadth and depth of our leadership,” said Musto. “As a result, we are able to turn to a leader of Kasey’s experience, industry perspective, and company knowledge without delay, ensuring this leadership transition will be both smooth and successful.”
Musto added, “Kasey’s leadership has driven consistent growth in sales revenue, added new business and retained relationships, and fostered our significantly enhanced sales presence across the markets we serve. She is highly respected as a leader in our industry and admired both personally and professionally by partner and competitor alike. I’m delighted for her, the FuturePlan organization, and the advisors, clients, and partners we serve.”
Ascensus recently completed two major steps to continue revolutionizing its state-facilitated retirement program business.
The company announced the appointment of Scott Parry as senior vice president of the SFRP business. He will report directly to Peg Creonte, president of Government Savings.
Parry is responsible for managing all aspects of Ascensus’ state-facilitated retirement plan business, which administers state auto-IRA programs that are quickly rolling out across the country. Ascensus was the first company to administer a state auto-IRA program, and currently administers CalSavers and Illinois Secure Choice, which together recently surpassed 382,300 funded IRAs from 104,900 participating employers.
Parry joined Ascensus from Citizens Wealth Management where he led several digital transformation initiatives and brings more than 20 years of experience in the retirement industry to his new role at Ascensus. He has held senior roles including General Manager of Ameritrade Retirement Services, EVP of FIS Retirement Services, CEO of Aon Hewitt Financial Advisors, and President of Reliance Trust.
“We’re pleased to welcome Scott to our leadership team, as his decades of financial services and innovation experience will be instrumental in helping our SFRP participants,” said Creonte. “He shares our passion for building solutions to the retirement savings gap, and he is joining at a critical juncture as we grow our auto-IRA plans by thousands of employers each month.”
Parry’s onboarding is timely, as Ascensus’ SFRP business recently launched a redesigned Employer Portal for CalSavers and Illinois Secure Choice SFRPs. The new platform improves navigation within an updated, modern design, streamlines the registration process for new employers, and reduces friction during the onboarding process to improve program facilitation.
New retirement role at Nuveen
Nuveen, the $1.3 trillion global investment manager of TIAA, recently announced the appointment of Esti Buskin as Head of Nuveen Retirement Marketing. This strategic new role is part of the recently announced expansion of its retirement income business and newly formed Nuveen Retirement Investing group, a new client-business channel designed to bring Nuveen’s investment offerings to higher-education and not-for-profit plan sponsor and corporate clients while delivering TIAA’s retirement income capabilities to the defined contribution market.
Esti will lead marketing strategy and execution of Nuveen’s lifetime income offerings, including the recently launched TIAA Secure Income Account (SIA), into the 401k marketplace, partnering closely with Brendan McCarthy, Head of Nuveen Retirement Investing. She will report to Tara Giuliano, CMO of Nuveen Marketing.
Esti joined from Prudential Retirement where she led B2B marketing since 2015. Prior to Prudential, she was the head of defined contribution marketing at BlackRock for 5 years.
T. Rowe Price adds two senior execs to institutional DC business
T. Rowe Price announced this week that it has hired Meenu Annamalai and Jessica Sclafani, CAIA, to support the Americas institutional defined contribution investment only (DCIO) business.
Annamalai is a senior institutional client service executive. In this role, she will service DC plan sponsor clients located in the West and Central United States and be responsible for engaging with consultants, advisors, and DC organizations. She will primarily cover DCIO relationships, but also support defined benefit (DB) public, corporate, endowments and foundations, and high net worth clients. Based in San Francisco, Annamalai will report to Kim Young, head of institutional client service for T. Rowe Price’s Americas business.
Annamalai has more than 18 years of experience in the DC market and comes to T. Rowe Price from Mercer, where she was defined contribution leader for the West market. Previously she served as a plan sponsor for HP Inc., where she was director of retirement investment and compliance.
Sclafani is a senior defined contribution strategist. In her role, she will be responsible for driving Americas’ DC research and thought leadership agenda and contributing to overall DCIO strategy. Additionally, Sclafani will serve as a subject matter expert for the firm’s DC brand-building efforts more generally. She will be a resource to client service and business development professionals, as well as T. Rowe Price retirement professionals across the enterprise, to support firmwide DC initiatives. Sclafani will report to Michael Davis, head of defined contribution plan specialists for the Americas.
Sclafani has more than 14 years of experience, most recently with MFS Investment Management, where she served as DC strategist for the Investment Solutions Group. Prior to MFS, she led the retirement practice for industry consultant Cerulli Associates, where she guided the firm’s DC research efforts.
SEE ALSO:
• Daniel Yem Joins J.P. Morgan Asset Management to Bolster Retirement Income Capabilities
• Littlefield Named Head of U.S. Retirement at Principal
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
