From Nationwide

BIOS

Lauren Kime (left) is a technical operations director at Nationwide, having expertise in retirement plan operations and recordkeeping oversight. Kime and her team are responsible for ensuring plans are administered accurately, efficiently and in full alignment with regulatory requirements. She aims to streamline processes, strengthen cross‑functional partnerships and deliver dependable, compliant operations, she says.

Zack Sharp, (middle) a senior marketing strategist at Nationwide, has over a decade of experience designing and activating marketing programs for private and governmental retirement plans. He partners with sales, product and analytics teams to translate plan dynamics, sponsor objectives and participant insights into campaigns for increasing plan engagement, retention and assets.

Jake Sours, (right) an executive program director at Nationwide, serves as the primary relationship manager for Nationwide retirement plan clients. He works closely with client leadership to align strategy, governance and program priorities. Besides leading the client relationship, Sours directs the field and operations teams that support retirement programs.

NOMINATOR COMMENTS

A state retirement program said: “Lauren’s deep knowledge of Nationwide systems, processes and investments was critical to major initiatives, including launching a collectively bargained employer contribution with automatic enrollment for a 28,000‑employee union. She ensured accurate reporting through complex state payroll processes. Lauren was a key contributor to the transition from custom target-date funds to collective investment trust TDFs. She led operational improvements, guided our automatic cash-out process, supported diverse employee populations and consistently drives efficiencies and improved participant experiences in working with stakeholders and partners and long-term strategic objectives.

“Zack works closely with our team to develop and launch impactful marketing campaigns, tools, website enhancements and plan design projects focused on participant engagement. As a trusted facilitator, he helped deliver best‑in‑class outcomes, including a new enrollment site that dramatically increased enrollments and reduced enrollment time from 25 minutes to less than six. Zack partnered on award‑winning communications, major investment and plan changes, statewide workshops and an extensive automatic enrollment campaign for a 28,000‑member union. He is an all‑star partner and valued collaborator.

“Jake Sours serves as the plan’s relationship manager and is the glue that holds things together. Partnering closely with our leadership and Nationwide teams, he led significant changes that strengthened field operations, including launching a retirement resource group to better serve participants while expanding in‑person outreach statewide. Jake played a key role in advancing our strategic operations plan through focused business planning and collaboration. He oversees operations, field and marketing efforts; facilitates difficult but necessary conversations; and fosters teamwork that has improved participation, enrollments, asset growth and retention.”