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Deals & People July 21, 2008
Lincoln Reorganizes Employer, Individual Markets
Lincoln Financial Groups realigned its Employer Markets and Individual Markets divisions into two new divisions: Retirement Solutions and Insurance Solutions.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
A Lincoln news release said the new structure is more closely aligned with consumer needs and will lead to more coordinated product development and greater effectiveness across the enterprise.
“Long-term external trends and the evolving needs of consumers support a more focused approach to designing and delivering retirement and insurance solutions,” said Dennis R. Glass, president and CEO, Lincoln Financial Group, in the release. “This new structure will facilitate execution and accelerate achieving the objectives of our strategy.”
Retirement Solutions, headed by Westley V. Thompson, includes the Defined Contribution and Individual Annuity businesses. The new division’s focus on asset accumulation and income distribution follows customers through their cycle of investing, from their first employer-based retirement plan through their last income check from a rollover or annuity, Lincoln said.
Insurance Solutions, headed by Mark E. Konen, includes Individual Life, Group Protection, and Executive Benefits. Placing these mortality- and morbidity-driven businesses into one division ensures a more holistic view of the customer’s wealth protection and wealth transfer needs throughout life, according to the company.
As a result of the new structure, responsibility for defined contribution and executive benefit intermediary plan sales and relationship management will be transferred to the company’s wholesale distribution organization, Lincoln Financial Distributors. Following the changes, Lincoln Financial Distributors will have a combined wholesaler force of more than 900.