Retirement Industry People Moves

Art by Subin Yang

Voya Financial Hires Sales Head for West Coast Team

Voya Financial recently hired Keith Cattaneo to serve as an RVP of sales, expanding its small- and mid-corporate Markets business on the West Coast. Cattaneo will be responsible for helping to grow Voya’s retirement plan business in the city of San Francisco as well as the adjacent East Bay and North Bay areas. He joined Voya last month and reports to Nick Wilson, SVP of sales, West Division.  This group is part of Voya’s broader national intermediary distribution team managed by Bill Elmslie.

“We are pleased to welcome Keith to Voya,” says Elmslie. “Keith comes to us with over 25 years of financial services and retirement plan experience, with a strong and accomplished background in 401(k) sales, management and business development.  We look forward to the many new relationships and opportunities he will bring to our team, as well as his energy and passion for helping Americans achieve their retirement goals.”

Prior to Voya, Cattaneo held former sales positions at a number of retirement plan providers, including Pentegra, NFP and Great West-Empower.

Lincoln Financial Adds to RPS Business With New Members

Lincoln Financial Group has added Michael D’Amico to its Retirement Plan Services (RPS) business as a sales director for the West region, and Kasi Boyles has been promoted to national director of Consultant Relations for RPS.

D’Amico will report to Brian Simms, vice president, Institutional Sales, and Boyles will report to Jason Key, vice president, head of Consultant Relations.

“Lincoln Financial continues to have an impact in the marketplace, because our high-tech, high-touch model is helping people achieve the retirement they envision,” says Gregg Holgate, senior vice president and head of Institutional Retirement Distribution, RPS. “I’m thrilled that Michael is a part of our team, and that Kasi now has the opportunity to tell the Lincoln Financial story directly to our key consultants and advisers.”

D’Amico will focus on sales of Lincoln Financial’s retirement products in the West region. He joins Lincoln Financial from Empower, where he most recently served as director of Non-qualified Benefits. D’Amico earned a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Emory University and a master’s degree in Finance from the University of Denver. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds series 6, 7 and 63 FINRA registrations.

Boyles joined Lincoln Financial in 2018 as a sales director, and in her new role she will focus on cultivating relationships with consultants and advisers. Prior to joining Lincoln Financial, Boyles held positions with Voya Financial Advisors, ING Financial Partners and Wachovia Securities. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Florida and holds series 7, 24, 63 and 66 FINRA registrations.

MassMutual Appoints DCIO Sales Leader

MassMutual has appointed Mark Cover as head of DCIO Field Sales as part of an expansion of sales, marketing, operations and other functions to support the fund complex. Cover reports to Aruna Hobbs, head of Institutional Investments for MassMutual’s Institutional Solutions business.  

“The MassMutual Funds add tremendous value in serving the investment needs of retirement plans and their participants.  Mark and his team will support the vast community of retirement plan advisers actively engaged in fulfilling the long term objectives of their clients, the retirement plan sponsors,” says Hobbs. “To that end, we strongly believe our differentiated investment solutions can help improve plan retirement outcomes and promote financial wellness at the participant level.”

Cover and an expanding team of wholesalers will be responsible for continuing the sales momentum. Before joining MassMutual, Cover served as head of DCIO Field Sales for T. Rowe Price where he managed the external wholesaling team supporting financial advisers focused on retirement plans. Prior to joining T. Rowe Price, Cover was national sales manager for ADP Retirement Services, where his team focused on driving retirement plan sales through financial advisers.  He has a bachelor’s in actuarial sciences from Bryant University.

Cover’s hire is part of an expansion of MassMutual’s DCIO distribution team.  In addition to Cover, MassMutual recently also appointed Andy Cunningham as DCIO Managing Director covering the Southern region.  Cunningham was previously a DCIO wholesaler at Columbia Threadneedle  and at Franklin Templeton.  In addition, MassMutual has invested in key accounts, marketing, product, investment and operations to support DCIO growth.

Ascensus Acquires TPA Firm

Ascensus has entered into an agreement to acquire Pension Strategies, Inc. The third-party administration (TPA) firm will immediately become part of FuturePlan by Ascensus.

Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Pension Strategies provides retirement plan consulting, design, and administration for small- to medium-sized businesses.

“Among other things, Pension Strategies is known throughout the industry for its in-depth knowledge base, commitment to service, and responsive solutions,” says Jerry Bramlett, head of FuturePlan by Ascensus. “I’m pleased to welcome their associates and the experience, expertise, and leadership they bring to FuturePlan by Ascensus.”

“At Pension Strategies, we take the time to listen to clients’ personal and business objectives in order to provide solutions that can meet their needs,” says S. Jill Hastings, Pension Strategies’ chief executive officer. “We look forward to continuing to offer clients the highest level of professional, personal service as part of FuturePlan by Ascensus.”

ICMA-RC Introduces New Public 403(b) Plan Team

As ICMA-RC continues to focus on helping public sector employees build retirement security, the company announced it has assembled a team of industry veterans to introduce retirement plan services to public plan sponsors across a range of education and health care organizations.

ICMA-RC entered the 403(b) space to bring its public sector expertise, participant-centered philosophy, and low costs to employees in 403(b) plan markets.

The 403(b) team, under the direction of Managing Vice President/Head of 403(b) Business, Bruce Corcoran, includes 13-year ICMA-RC veteran George Spindell, vice president, 403(b) Product and Platform Leader, joined by new hires Scott Vensor, vice president, 403(b) Business Development, and Kevin Orr, senior director, Education and Health Care Market.

Spindell has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and has been with ICMA-RC since 2006. He is responsible for 403(b) products and services, and he leads the effort to broaden ICMA-RC’s 403(b) market acceptance. Previously, he designed, developed, and launched the VantageTrust’s guaranteed lifetime income investment option that ICMA-RC makes available.

Vensor comes to ICMA-RC’s 403(b) team with nearly 25 years in the financial industry, 18 years of which were focused on institutional business development. He oversees ICMA-RC’s institutional business development opportunities in the education and health care market. He also aims to ensure that ICMA-RC’s recordkeeping, education, and investment services align with best market practices. Vensor comes to ICMA-RC from various industry-leading organizations, including TIAA, where he served as national director of Business Development for Select Markets, which include the K-12 (public and private), health care, government, religious and charitable segments.

Orr comes to ICMA-RC with more than 30 years of experience in all areas of the 403(b) education and health care market. He will lead the corporation in best practices pertaining to public education and public health care plan implementation and administration. Prior to joining ICMA-RC, Orr was senior director of K-12 and Emerging Markets for TIAA. He also held positions with VALIC, including adviser, district manager, regional director and regional vice president.

Strategic Benefit Advisors Hires Senior Benefits Consultant

Independent, full-service employee benefits consulting firm Strategic Benefits Advisors, Inc. (SBA) has hired veteran retirement plans leader Leslie Olds for the role of senior benefits consultant.

A retirement benefits consultant of 28 years, Olds will advise SBA’s plan sponsor clients on managing all aspects of their broad-based and executive retirement programs, including financing, design, implementation, administration and compliance.

Immediately before joining SBA, Olds was a partner in Aon’s retirement division, where she oversaw business operations for six markets in the south region. Before that, Olds spent more than 15 years at global advisory, brokerage and solutions company Willis Towers Watson, where she was a senior consultant in the firm’s retirement practice.

Olds’ areas of specialty as a retirement benefits consultant include qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, post-retirement welfare plans, the design and implementation of new retirement programs, retirement plan merger and acquisition strategies and the alignment of benefits funding and accounting policies with business objectives.

Olds holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Northwestern University. She has earned the designations of Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Enrolled Actuary (EA), Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA) and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).