Voya Financial, widely recognized as “formerly ING,” proudly announced in late April that Charles Nelson will strengthen its team as the new Chief Executive Officer of Retirement, beginning May 1, 2015. This key appointment highlights Voya Financial’s retirement leadership and signals significant executive changes at Voya Financial, setting a robust path forward for the company’s strategic operations in the retirement sector.
He will report to Alain Karaoglan, Voya Financial’s chief operating officer (COO), and join the company’s Executive Committee. In 2014, Voya’s Retirement segment accounted for fully 40 percent of the company’s operating earnings.
Nelson comes to Voya Financial with more than 30 years of leadership experience in the retirement industry. He was formerly president of retirement services for Great-West and most recently led the legacy retirement business of Great-West in Empower Retirement, a business unit of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company.
“We are pleased to announce that Charlie is joining Voya to lead Retirement,” Rodney Martin, Jr., chairman and CEO of Voya Financial, said in a statement. “Charlie’s track record of developing and executing profitable growth strategies for retirement businesses – while optimizing return on equity – is reflected in his well-respected standing in our industry. He will be a great addition to our executive team as we continue to focus on achieving our vision to be America’s retirement company.”
During his career, Nelson has managed all aspects of defined contribution and defined benefit businesses. He has overseen government, healthcare, nonprofit and 401(k) institutional lines of business, while also managing recordkeeping, administration, operations, sales, products, financial results and broker-dealer services.
“The exciting transformation that’s taken place at Voya was a key driver in my decision,” Nelson added. “I’m delighted to join the Voya team. I look forward to contributing to Voya’s continued success–leveraging its strong financial profile with a focus on long-term value creation by delivering unique customer experiences integrated with a set of holistic solutions designed to enhance participant retirement income.”
“As we shared during our earnings announcement in February, we are making strategic investments in several areas, such as digital and analytics capabilities and a cross-enterprise strategy, to support our growth efforts and increase our competitiveness,” Karaoglan explained. “Bringing an industry leader like Charlie onto our team, coupled with our investments in technology–and our ongoing efforts to continually enhance the experience of our customers, at every touch point–will sharpen our customer-centric focus, as we more closely align Retirement and Investment Management.”
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