Retirement Industry People Moves

ASPPA, ARA Name New Governing Board Members

The American Retirement Association and the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries announced the selection of new members of their governing boards for 2027.

The ARA’s new leadership includes Lynn Young as president, Pat Wenzel as president-elect for 2028, Natalie Wyatt as treasurer and Brandan Diersch as secretary.

The 2027 ASPPA Leadership Council will be led by Manny Marques, president; Genelle Brakefield, president-elect; Chris Thixton, vice president; and Shannon Edwards, immediate past president.

New at-large members of the ASPPA Leadership Council include Julie Altig, Atlantic Pension Services Inc.; Kevin Cheezum, Nestegg Retirement Plan Services Inc.; Krisy Dempewolf, Empower Retirement LLC; Jill Dennis, Dunbar, Bender & Zapf Inc.; Kevin Gaston, Vestwell; Arasely Hanes, Nova 401(k) Associates; Melissa Terito, Sentinel Pension Advisors; Angie Vadanis, Scott Retirement Advisors Inc.; and Blake Willis, July Business Services.

Brian Graff, CEO of the ARA and ASPPA executive officer, will serve as an ex-oficio member of the ASPPA Leadership Council.

Separately, Alex Assaly, managing director of Hub International Ltd.’ss retirement and wealth division, was elected as the newest at-large member of the ARA board.

Prime Capital Financial Hires Ekaterina Sheliga

Prime Capital Financial LLC hired Ekaterina Sheliga as a retirement plan consultant.

Sheliga brings more than 15 years of experience in financial services and retirement services. She joins the firm from PCS Retirement, where she served as sales director of strategic accounts and managed relationships with national broker/dealers, registered investment advisers and wealth management firms. She previously held leadership positions at the American Retirement Association and The Standard Insurance Co.

In her new role, Sheliga will focus on building relationships with employers, advisers and other strategic partners. She began her career at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., working with business owners and executives on retirement plan design and fiduciary matters.

Masttro Appoints Andrew Peddar Chief Operating Officer

Masttro Inc. has appointed Andrew Peddar as chief operating officer. Peddar will oversee the company’s data operations and client experience teams.

Peddar brings more than 25 years of experience in financial technology and enterprise software, with expertise in investment data, analytics and reporting. He will report to CEO Jay McNamara and work closely with employees at Masttro’s New York City headquarters.

Previously, Peddar served as group chief operating officer of StatPro, where he led commercial, client-facing and delivery functions. He later joined Broadridge Financial Solutions as vice president and general manager, overseeing a global financial technology business serving major financial institutions. Most recently, he was chief revenue officer at Next Matter, an artificial intelligence and data orchestration platform serving asset and wealth managers.

American Beacon Appoints Matthew Tripp as Vice President, Senior Client Portfolio Manager

American Beacon Partners Inc. announced the appointment of Matthew Tripp as senior client portfolio manager for ARK Investment Management LLC, the full sub‑adviser to the American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund.

In his new role, Tripp will work closely with the American Beacon and ARK Invest teams to support client relationships. He reports to Jay Schilling, head of wealth and institutional sales.

Tripp brings more than 15 years of experience across investment management, business development, and distribution. Most recently, he served as director and investment product consultant at Envestnet PMC, where he worked with private wealth clients and advisers across direct indexing, tax management, alternatives and manager research.

Prior to Envestnet, Tripp served as senior director of sub-advisory at Aegon Asset Management, where he was a client portfolio manager for fixed-income strategies distributed through third-party partnerships. Earlier in his career, he spent more than five years at Touchstone Investments.

As of June 30, 2026, American Beacon Partners’ affiliates had $91.7 billion in assets under management and $108.1 billion in assets under management and distribution.