Retirement Industry People Moves

Gina Alsdorf Joins Groom’s Retirement Services Practice

Gina Alsdorf

The Groom Law Group hired Gina Alsdorf as senior counsel within the firm’s retirement services practice.

Alsdorf has more than 25 years of retirement industry experience, advising insurers, recordkeepers and other financial services companies on fiduciary and regulatory issues. She started her career as an investigator for the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and later held in-house counsel roles advising senior executives for retirement and investment platform service providers.

Alsdorf’s practice focuses on the development and distribution of retirement services and products, including collective investment trusts and lifetime income products. Alsdorf also brings interest in new technologies, including blockchain and its potential for use in clearing transactions and automation.

Securian Financial Hires Head of Distribution, Strategic Initiatives, Partnerships

Thomas Brennan

The Securian Financial Group Inc. hired Thomas Brennan III as head of distribution, strategic initiatives and partnerships for the company’s institutional retirement solutions business.

Brennan’s responsibilities include expanding the company’s market presence and deepening client relationships.

Previously, Brennan held executive positions at Transamerica Corp., Ascensus, Definiti and TFIN @Work. He also has worked as a strategic adviser, consultant and fractional chief revenue officer to organizations in financial services and financial technology.

TIAA Adds Executive for Tech, AI Risk

Divyangi Anchan

TIAA announced the appointment of Divyangi Anchan as chief risk and compliance officer, technology and artificial intelligence risk. She will report to Mike Cowell, TIAA’s chief risk officer and chief compliance officer.

“From my very first interactions, it was clear that TIAA’s leadership and associates share an extraordinary level of clarity and alignment to its mission,” Anchan wrote in a LinkedIn post about her new job. “One statistic in particular has stuck with me—roughly 40% of Americans cannot retire with financial safety. A mission focused on enabling a dignified retirement for everyone deeply resonated with me. When you combine that kind of purpose with a 100+ year legacy, meaningful business growth, and exciting, in-progress technology transformation, the role of the risk and compliance organization becomes self-evident.”

Anchan previously led AI risk management and controls for Google’s enterprise and corporate capabilities. She also held senior risk and compliance roles at American Express and J.P. Morgan.

Constitution Capital Names Rick Schainker Managing Director

Rich Schainker

Constitution Capital Partners, an alternative asset manager, named Rich Schainker a managing director. Schainker will focus on expanding Constitution Capital’s defined contribution abilities, building on the firm’s recent launch of the Constitution Capital Horizon CIT.

Schainker brings more than 30 years of retirement industry experience across investment strategy, plan design, fiduciary governance and distribution. Prior to joining Constitution Capital, Schainker served as a senior director, DC strategist and investment consultant within WTW’s retirement practice. He also held senior retirement and investment roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Newfront Insurance Services LLC and Invesco.

Michael Picard Joins BPAS ESOP and kSOP Team

Michael Picard

Benefit Plans Administrative Services Inc. hired Michael Picard as a plan consultant on its employee stock ownership and kSOP team.

In his new role, Picard will work with ESOP and kSOP plan sponsors and advisers while supporting the growth and operations of the BPAS employee-ownership practice.

Picard most recently served as chief financial officer and senior associate for SWBR, a New York-based architecture, engineering and landscape design firm. He brings nearly two decades of CFO experience with privately held organizations, as well as earlier leadership roles in institutional trust and retirement services.

SureCo Names New Chief Growth Officer

Federico Salvitti

Surecompanies Inc., known as SureCo, a health benefits technology company specializing in individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, named Federico Salvitti as chief growth officer.

Salvitti spent a decade in venture capital and private equity, building growth strategies for companies in the insurance, banking and payments sectors. He also teaches business management, marketing and innovation at New York University.

“We helped build the [ICHRA] model, we brought the carriers to the table, and we have measured the savings three years running,” said Matthew Christopherson, co-founder of SureCo, in a statement. “The one thing nobody solved before now was the last mile, the moment a working parent finally understands they get to choose. That is the job we hired [Salvitti] to help us finish.”

Transamerica Names 2 Leaders on Retirement Sales Team

Transamerica Corp. this month named two additions to its retirement distribution leadership team: Kevin Murphy is now the national sales manager for the large market team, and Danny Kling was promoted to national sales manager for the mid market. Both managers will report to Darren Zino, head of retirement distribution.

Kevin Murphy

Murphy will lead large-market distribution and help advance growth strategies, strategic partnerships and market expansion efforts. Murphy was previously the vice president of retirement solutions at Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., a position he started in February, where he led sales for Broadridge’s fintech platform iJoin. Prior to that, Murphy worked for 14 years at Franklin Templeton in positions that included head of workplace solutions and strategic growth for research strategies and technology.

Danny Kling

Kling, who has been at Transamerica for 15 years, was most recently a divisional sales manager. He succeeds Brian Walker, who will retire October 1. Previously, Kling had been a vice president of sales at The Hartford and SunTrust, according to his LinkedIn profile.