Retirement Industry People Moves

The Standard Names 2^nd VP of Information Security

Standard Insurance Company (The Standard) announced that Laxman Prakash has been promoted to second vice president of Information Security.

Prakash joined the firm in 2011 as a director in information security and business continuity, focusing on strengthening the firm’s entire information security organization. Beforehand, he served as senior portfolio manager with Wipro Technologies and as a manager with KPMG. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electronics and telecommunications from the University of Madras in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Prakash is a certified information systems security professional.

“Laxman has implemented an ISO 27001-certified information security management system and strengthened our business continuity practices,” explains David O’Brien, senior vice president of information technology at The Standard. “His strong leadership and organizational skills have contributed significantly to the success of The Standard’s IT organization.”  

NEXT: GAM Hires Global Head of Marketing

GAM Hires Global Head of Marketing

Adam Brown will be joining asset management firm GAM as the company’s new global head of marketing. He will assume his new role on July 3, 2017, at the London office. He will be responsible for driving global marketing initiatives while working closely with the sales, product and distribution teams. He will also be tasked with increasing awareness of the group’s single master brand GAM, after the termination of the company’s license to use Julius Baer trademarks to market investment funds.

Brown has more than 18 years of experience in the industry. He comes to GAM from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, where he was responsible for leading marketing across all distribution channels in EMEA and Asia. He also held various marketing positions with Blackrock and Fidelity. Brown earned his master’s degree in strategic marketing management from Kingston University.

Tim Rainsford, group head of distribution, says: “Adam is a very experienced professional, bringing a wealth of experience across direct, intermediary and institutional distribution channels in brand-building, client communications, investment insight, thought leadership, events and sponsorships. We are pleased to welcome him to the team, and his experience will further make the way we communicate with our clients more relevant, engaging and timely.”

NEXT: DATAIR Hires ERISA Consultant

DATAIR Hires ERISA Consultant

Amy Cavanaugh has joined DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems as an ERISA Consultant in the Document Services area. With experience in the industry spanning back to 1979, she specializes in document compliance. She has worked for several document providers as well as large consulting firms like Willis Towers Watson and financial institutions such as Putnam Investments. She has also provided consulting services to small and mid-sized third-party administrators (TPAs).

Cavanaugh is a frequent author and public speaker on topics such as Prevailing Wage Retirement Plans. She also is the former author of the Coverage and Non-Discrimination Answer Book. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville University and studied ERISA Plans at the Institute for Paralegal Training in Philadelphia.

“We are thrilled to welcome such a tremendous talent to our team, especially as we start preparing for the next restatement period,” says DATAIR President Aaron Venouziou.

NEXT: Retirement LLC Acquires Summit Group TPA Division

Retirement LLC Acquires Summit Group TPA Division

Retirement LLC announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the third party administrator (TPA) division of Summit Group, based in Oklahoma City. The transaction closed on April 1, 2017.

Summit Group offers plan design consulting, recordkeeping, administration and compliance services for retirement plans of all sizes.

"The addition of Summit Group further expands our market share in Oklahoma and across the United States while adding an experienced client services team that understands the complex TPA retirement business. This acquisition adds significant strategic value to the future growth of our organization” says Dana Hagen, president/CEO of Retirement LLC.

The move marks the firm’s fourth acquisition in the past four years. Gay Williams, Summit Group vice president says, “We have a commitment to our clients to provide extremely high service levels that meet all of their needs. We will continue to grow and now have a national platform to add more business without compromising the quality of the service for our clients.”

NEXT: QBI Grows Actuarial Team

QBI Grows Actuarial Team

Retirement plan design firm QBI announced it is expanding its actuarial team by welcoming three new employees. Steven Singer, Dan Jock and Justin Greindl will join current actuaries Gary Mevorah, Michael Burkow and Nathan Gasaway. 

Singer comes to the firm with decades of experience in the industry. For the last 27 years, he ran his own consulting actuary business.

Jock, who will be serving part-time, has been running his own business Cornerstone Retirement Plan Advisors for the past decade. Greindl, who will be serving on a contractual basis, has spent the last 12 years working with large corporate employee benefit firms and small boutique third-party administrator (TPA) firms.

In addition, two defined benefit (DB) consultants have joined QBI in its Woodland Hills and Irvine offices.

"We have a great team of talented and conscientious individuals,” says Gary Mevorah, QBI’s senior actuary. “In my 25 plus years in the pension actuarial field, being able to lead and work with this group has been the most gratifying experience of my career. QBI and our actuarial team are going in a great direction and we look forward to sharing our retirement plan expertise for many years to come.”

The firm notes the expanded actuarial and consulting team supports QBI’s clients on a broad range of services ensuring that they are in compliance with the law, calculating employers' liabilities for their defined benefit pension plans and determining contributions to be made to their plans.