Retirement Industry People Moves – 12/22/23

Ascensus, FuturePlan Expand Retirement Sales Teams

Ascensus LLC announced new hires to its retirement sales team as well as its fully-owned third-party administrator, FuturePlan by Ascensus.

Justin Sabol

Ascensus’s retirement distribution team has brought on Justin Sabol as regional vice president for the eastern region, and Kate Whitmore as vice president of business development for pooled plans.

Sabol joins Ascensus from OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc., where he was regional sales director in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. In his new role, he will also cover New Jersey and Delaware, and report to Anthony Bologna, divisional vice president of retirement distribution in the eastern region.

Business development leader Whitmore joins Ascensus from Transamerica Retirement Solutions, where she was director of pooled plan sales.

Kate Whitmore

In the new role, she will focus on expanding Ascensus’ pooled retirement plan offerings, working specifically with advisers to drive existing programs and find new ones, according to the announcement. She will report to Mindy O’Connor, head of business development, retirement.

Ascensus reported in September that it topped $1 billion in assets among its 30 PEPs.

In a separate announcement, FuturePlan by Ascensus noted the addition of a regional vice president to the sales team.

Nick Kennedy will oversee Pennsylvania, western New York, southern New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Northern Virginia, and D.C., while reporting to Mark Wiggins, divisional vice president.

He joins the firm from Ameritas, where he was regional sales director for qualified plans.

InVesti Adds National Sales Manager

InVesti has hired a new national sales manager for its retirement plan recordkeeping and services business from IPX Retirement.  

Lee Tenney

Lee Tenney is also now part of InVesti’s senior management team and will be focused on creating sales strategy and growing the business, a spokesperson confirmed.

Tenney joins after holding a role as head of sales and distribution for IPX Retirement, and before that as director, external retirement consultant with Allianz Global Investors.

“We are confident that Lee is the perfect fit for a company that is offering a unique suite of products and services that can transform the financial experience of both participants and financial service providers,” co-founder and CEO Thomas Hansen wrote in a LinkedIn post.

EBRI Names Tami Simon to Board of Directors

The Employee Benefit Research Institute has named a senior executive at benefits and human resources consultancy Segal to its Board of Directors Executive Committee.

Tami Simon

Tami Simon, global corporate consulting business leader, will join the board after serving as a member of EBRI’s Board of Trustees, according to an announcement from the Institute.

At Segal, Simon works with businesses, nonprofits, associations and higher education institutions on organizational and workforce needs, according to her company biography.

Segal was a founding member of the nonprofit EBRI, which was formed in 1978.

SEI Asset Management Head Stepping Down

The head of SEI Investments Company’s asset management division, Wayne Withrow, will be stepping down effective February 28, 2024, with a company search to replace him begun both internally and externally, according to an announcement.

Wayne Withrow

Withrow will be departing from the role of executive vice president and head of global asset management, in which he focused on strengthening SEI’s asset management offerings, capitalized on market opportunities, and worked to grow the division, according to the announcement.

He joined SEI in 1990 as a vice president in the company’s legal department and later held roles as Chief Information Officer, head of SEI’s investment managers’ business and head of its adviser division.

“Wayne’s focus on aligning our asset management businesses globally over the last 12 months has reinforced the foundation from which we believe we can drive future growth,” CEO Ryan Hicke said in a statement. “His contributions and depth of knowledge across our three pillars of expertise—technology, operations, and asset management—have not only helped drive our success, but also nurtured our culture.”

SEI is not changing any of its reporting lines in connection with the announced change.