Nationwide Financial, Lincoln Investment Announce New C-Suite Leaders
Nationwide Financial Names President and COO
Nationwide CEO Kirt Walker announced today that Craig Hawley has been named the incoming president and COO of Nationwide Financial, effective Sept. 1. In January, John Carter announced his intention to retire as leader of the company’s financial services business.
“With more than 30 years in the financial services industry, Craig Hawley is a results-driven leader and innovator who is committed to creating value for advisors and their clients,” Walker said. “His proven track record at Nationwide makes him a strong fit to lead our financial services business, which has become a $50 billion industry leader, consistently outperforming the competition in earnings and sales growth as we deliver on our mission to protect people, businesses and futures with extraordinary care.”
Hawley currently serves as president of Nationwide Annuity, a top 10 seller of annuity products in the U.S., representing more than $130 billion in assets in 2024. Hawley previously led Nationwide Retirement Solutions Distribution, overseeing sales teams responsible for more than $175 billion in assets under management and supporting over 2.5 million participants in preparing for and living in retirement.
He also played a pivotal role in Nationwide’s acquisition of Jefferson National in 2017, later leading the business—renamed Nationwide Advisory Solutions—until its integration into Nationwide Annuity in 2019. His earlier roles include serving as general counsel and secretary at Jefferson National, assistant general counsel at ARM Financial Group, and associate at the law firm Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.
Hawley holds a juris doctor dand bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Louisville. He is an active member of several boards, including the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), LIMRA Annuity Advisory Board, University of Louisville College of Business Board of Advisors, and the Star House Board of Trustees.
In the coming weeks, Craig and John Carter will work together as they transition responsibilities.
Nationwide Annuity will continue to operate under Craig Hawley’s leadership until a new leader is announced.
Lincoln Investment Names C-Suite Leaders
Lincoln Investment Planning, LLC (Lincoln Investment) has added two new employees to its executive leadership team effective July 28, 2025. Jason Estes was named chief information and technology officer and Dan Alexander was appointed chief business development officer.
Estes is responsible for leading the firm’s technology strategy, overseeing digital transformation initiatives and modernizing IT platforms. He brings over 20 years of leadership experience in information technology and digital innovation, with deep expertise in financial services, consulting and enterprise-scale transformation. Most recently, he served as chief information and digital officer at First Command Financial Services, where he led infrastructure, application development, enterprise architecture and cybersecurity efforts supporting a complex ecosystem of bank, RIA, insurance and broker-dealer entities.
As Chief Business Development Officer, Alexander is responsible for driving the firm’s revenue growth, developing and executing strategic plans to compete in the marketplace and increasing Lincoln’s financial professional network.
Before joining Lincoln, Alexander co-founded RetireAware in 2017, a firm dedicated to market transparency providing consulting services to retirement plans, record-keepers, registered investment advisers and third-party administrators. He served as a consultant to Lincoln supporting the firm’s retirement, recruiting & transition team strategy. Prior to RetireAware, Alexander was the Midwest regional vice president for VALIC (now Corebridge Financial.)
SageView Acquires CAP STRAT
SageView Advisory Group has acquired CAP STRAT (Capital Strategies Investment Group LLC), an institutional retirement plan consulting and wealth management firm based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.
CAP STRAT manages approximately $25 billion in assets, including $750 million in wealth management AUM and more than $24 billion in institutional AUA as of June 30, 2025. CAP STRAT’s team of 23 principals, consultants and team members will become part of SageView. The CAP STRAT leadership team of Barbara Best, Nancy Rizzuto, Alison Bettonville, Mike Rarey, Michael Warford and Neil Davies will become managing directors at SageView.
“The intersection of retirement planning and wealth management continues to become more pronounced as an increasing number of individuals accumulate significant savings in their defined contribution plans,” said SageView CEO John Longley. “Like SageView, CAP STRAT has focused on providing services and solutions in both areas. We are thrilled to have the CAP STRAT team join the SageView family as their expertise complements our own.”
CAP STRAT was founded in 2003 as a fiduciary investment and retirement advisory firm. In addition to providing retirement plan consulting and wealth management services, CAP STRAT will bring new Institutional Managed Asset Services capabilities to SageView, supporting institutional clients with discretionary asset management.
Best said, “CAP STRAT was seeking a partner to help us reach our next level of growth, and SageView, with its similar culture and alignment on client service and support, was a perfect fit. We are excited to leverage SageView’s expertise and solutions to support our clients.”
SageView worked with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton as legal counsel. CAP STRAT worked with Turkey Hill Management as their investment banker and Hogan Lovells as legal counsel.
Alto Hires Executives to Leadership Team
Alto, the self-directed IRA platform for private market and alternative assets, has added two seasoned executives to its leadership team: Tomek Siergiejuk has joined as chief financial officer and Tom Eidt has joined as general counsel.
“Investors are increasingly looking beyond public markets to diversify their portfolios into asset classes like venture capital, real estate and private equity,” said Eric Satz, founder and CEO of Alto. “With tens of trillions of dollars held in retirement accounts, more individuals are beginning to look for ways to put those dollars to work in investments that were once out of reach. Strengthening our leadership team is essential to ensuring we meet this moment with the discipline, vision and operational excellence that sets us apart.”
Alto says its investing in its leadership as demand for alternative assets rises and self-directed IRAs gain traction as a vehicle to access alternative funds within a tax-advantaged retirement structure.
Tomek Siergiejuk joins Alto after more than a decade at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, where he served as managing director and CFO. He started his career in investment banking at Credit Suisse, advising financial institutions on M&A, IPOs, and capital raising. At Alto, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s financial operations, driving strategic planning and forecasting and ensuring a scalable foundation to support long-term growth.
Tom Eidt brings more than two decades of legal, compliance and regulatory experience across both traditional and digital finance. He began his career at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C., where he was a senior counsel in the Trading and Markets Division as well as an assistant director in the Exams Division. Tom most recently served as general counsel at Securitize, a leading platform for digital securities. At Alto, Tom leads legal and regulatory strategy.
DC Lead Joins AllianceBernstein
AllianceBernstein announced that Michael Ferraro joins as the firm’s Defined Contribution Sales specialist and managing director for its Defined Contribution business.
In this newly created position, Ferraro will work with Institutional DC plan sponsors and other stakeholders to understand their needs and support both AB’s North America Institutional Advisor Team and AB’s Defined Contribution business.
Prior to joining AB, Ferraro held senior roles at both Envestnet and BlackRock, and prior to that, spent eight years managing key client relationships for the insurance sub-advisory as well as private wealth businesses at AllianceBernstein. He is based in San Francisco.
NFP Buys Employee Benefits Broker
NFP, an Aon company and leading property and casualty (P&C) broker, benefits consultant, wealth manager and retirement plan advisor, has acquired Pilot Benefits Group, LLC (PBG) dba Pilot|RB(Pilot), an employee benefits broker located in Melville, New York. Josh Senders and Ben Senders, principals at Pilot, will join NFP as senior vice presidents and report to Chris Feneli, managing director, Benefits, for NFP’s Northeast region.
“We’re excited to welcome Josh, Ben and the Pilot team and add their capabilities and expertise to our diverse portfolio of solutions,” said Kate Henry, president of the Northeast region. “This is a great strategic move for us and I’m looking forward to seeing how Josh, Ben and their team build on their successes in the tristate area and help us deliver even more value to employers and their employees.”
For over sixty years, the Pilot team has served nonprofit organizations and middle market businesses.
“We’re looking forward to joining Kate, Chris and the NFP team in the Northeast region,” said Josh and Ben Senders in a joint statement. “The integration of their expertise, service and capabilities across business lines is unmatched and presents exciting new opportunities for our team to expand the solutions we deliver to clients.”
MissionSquare Appoints Sales VP
MissionSquare has hired Mike Reilly as managing vice president of Field Sales, East, the latest addition to the firm’s sales team.
In this role, Reilly is responsible for leading a team of approximately 50 associates who are the primary drivers of the participant experience with MissionSquare. He will also lead on every aspect of total customer satisfaction.
“Mike brings a level of excitement and energy to MissionSquare that is truly palpable, and we could not be more excited to have him join our team,” said Andrew Whiting, chief sales officer at MissionSquare. “Under his leadership, I am confident the team will continue to deliver exceptional service and deepen our commitment to customer satisfaction. Mike’s passion for inspiring teams, driving strategic growth, and fostering a culture of excellence will be instrumental as we continue to elevate our customer experience and expand our impact in the market.”
Reilly comes to MissionSquare from Empower, where he was regional vice president, overseeing 16 regional sales directors. Before Empower, Reilly worked at MassMutual for 10 years as a national sales manager.
“I began my career in a Boston call center, where daily conversations with clients shaped my understanding of staying mission-focused. Decades later, that personal connection remains just as vital,” added Reilly. “I’m thrilled to be joining MissionSquare. Every person I have met throughout the process confirmed exactly what I was hoping to find in this next chapter of my career: an inspiring team, a shared purpose, and a culture that truly resonates. I am excited to grow with MissionSquare as our industry evolves. It’s a dynamic time to be in this business and an even better time to be here at MissionSquare.”
Reilly is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and reports to Arthur Flattich, head of Field Sales and Relationship Management at MissionSquare. Flattich was recently promoted to this role and has been with MissionSquare for nearly 30 years, serving in various sales and relationship management roles. As head of Field Sales, he oversees all plan sponsor and participant-facing associates who deliver services to MissionSquare’s retirement plan customers.