Jay Kaduson Joins Voya Financial as CEO of Workplace Solutions

Jay Kaduson will join Voya Financial Inc. as CEO of workplace solutions on January 16, the firm announced Thursday.

Kaduson, formerly of accounting firm PwC, will oversee all aspects of the health and wealth solutions businesses, including the execution of the company’s workplace strategy. He will report to Voya CEO Heather Lavallee and join the company’s executive committee. Kaduson replaces Rob Grubka, who had overseen the merging of the firm’s health and wealth divisions in December 2022.

Voya has about 450 financial professionals serving retail and workplace clients. In the third quarter of 2024, wealth solutions reported pre-tax adjusted operating earnings of $211 million, an increase from $179 million in the same period the previous year. In the third quarter of 2024, health solutions reported pre-tax adjusted operating earnings of $23 million, down from $53 million in the same period the previous year.

Kaduson says that the workplace solutions team is in the “right mindset” to continue providing value to employers and their workforces.

“This is a high-performing team that I’ve been working with as an adviser for the last nine years,” he says. “I’ve competed against this team and then helped support this team, and I can tell you that that this entire organization is focused on bringing the right solutions to our advisers, to our customers.”

Kaduson has held leadership roles for 26 years in financial services, including roles at PwC and MetLife. At PwC, he oversaw growth initiatives in insurance, retirement and wealth practices, while also acting as Voya’s lead client partner. Kaduson focused on building high-performing teams, risk management and value creation through technology.

Prior to PwC, he spent 16 years at MetLife, ultimately serving as MetLife’s global head of enterprise relationship management, where he established partnerships with key financial institutions and service providers.

Reporting to Kaduson will be Amy Vaillancourt, president of wealth solutions; Andrew Frend, president of health solutions; and Courtney Kunzelmann, chief marketing officer for workplace solutions.

Enhancing Tools for Advisers and Customers

Kaduson and Vaillancourt underscore the importance to Voya’s mission of supporting plan advisers.

“The feedback that we also get from advisers is that digital continues to be very important. Whether it’s our MyOrangeMoney or MyVoyage tools, we’re leaders in this space,” Vaillancourt says. “Collectively as an industry, we’re working toward understanding what the best solutions from a retirement income perspective are.”

Kaduson adds that Voya’s focus is delivering a holistic view of clients’ needs through the workplace. The team plans to enhance the website experience for participants and sponsors, with continued investments in digital environments, he says.

“Our strategy is going to continue to focus on the customer and having a customer-centric operating model, meeting their needs through the workplace and the institutions we work with,” Kaduson says.