MassMutual Names New Financial Advisory, Annuity Leaders

Mike Fanning

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Tuesday the promotion of Paul LaPiana to head of its financial adviser division and Dominic Blue to head of its annuity arm as the former head of MassMutual U.S., Mike Fanning, retires.

LaPiana will take over as head of brand, product and affiliated distribution on June 1, overseeing the firm’s core distribution channel of financial advisers focused on wealth management and financial wellness advice. Blue will join the Springfield, Massachusetts-based company’s executive leadership team as head of its third-party distribution and new market division, as well as CEO of its wholly owned annuity subsidiary, MassMutual Ascend. Both leaders will report to Roger Crandall, MassMutual chairman, CEO and president.

Fanning is retiring after 17 years with the firm, during which he expanded its affiliated financial professional network and divested its retirement recordkeeping business with a sale to Empower Retirement in 2020. The shift helped increase MassMutual’s annuity sales, making it the third largest annuity provider as of the third quarter of 2022, according to insurance industry association LIMRA.

“As we welcome Paul and Dominic to our executive leadership team, we also express our deepest gratitude to Mike for his lasting contributions that have helped Mass

Paul Lapiana

Mutual become the industry leader that it is today,” Crandall said in a statement.

Sales of retail annuities have hit records in recent quarters as the combination of market volatility and higher interest rates make the insurance-backed products popular among investors. Providers working in the more nascent in-plan retirement annuity space are also reporting increased sales due in part to the demand for guaranteed income in retirement.

During Fanning’s tenure at MassMutual, the firm more than doubled its life insurance policies to $950 billion, according to Tuesday’s announcement. He also “dramatically expanded” the firm’s network of affiliated financial professionals, helping the firm become “one of the top annuity providers in the U.S.,” the firm wrote.

Dominic Blue

When MassMutual sold its retirement recordkeeper division to Empower, the firm cited a “number of trends and factors” in the decision. Some of those trends included increasing fee compression in the retirement plan provider space and “ongoing industry consolidation,” head of media relations Laura Crisco told PLANADVISER at the time. The move further increased Empower’s retirement recordkeeping scale, with the firm now holding the position of the second largest 401(k) provider after Fidelity Investments, according to PLANSPONSOR, a sister publication of PLANADVISER.

LaPiana was promoted from the role of product lead for MassMutual since 2019, having joined the firm in 2016 from MetLife following MassMutual’s acquisition of the MetLife Premier Client Group.

Blue’s promotion includes taking over as CEO of MassMutual Ascend, an annuity provider MassMutual created from the acquisition of Great American Life Insurance company in May of 2021. The president of the division, Mark Muething, will continue in that role, according to the announcement. Blue joined MassMutual as assistant general counsel in 2011.