J.P. Morgan Asset Management has hired Michael Falcon as a managing director and head of retirement in the United States and Canada.
Falcon will be based in New York and report to George Gatch, the chief executive officer of J.P. Morgan Investment Management Americas.
"The retirement industry is poised to enter a period of unprecedented growth and expansion, with defined contribution, Individual Retirement Accounts and after-tax retirement savings increasingly generating the bulk of investable assets," Gatch said. "Bringing on someone with Michael's experience will ensure that we expand our retirement offering to be even more comprehensive, addressing new market realities and the current needs of Americans who are saving for retirement."
Falcon, who has worked in the retirement industry for 25 years, was managing a financial media and consulting firm founded by NBC's "Today" financial editor Jean Chatzky, and was a senior advisor for Knowledgent Group and BrightScope.com. Between 2000 and 2008, Falcon was a senior executive in Merrill Lynch's wealth management business, where he ran the retirement group.
Castellani Leads New York Life Retirement Plan Svcs.
New York Life Retirement Plan Services has appointed David Castellani to lead the division, with the title of senior managing director. Castellani will report to and assume many of the business management responsibilities of Drew Lawton, who was recently appointed chief executive officer of traditional investments at New York Life Investments.
Castellani was previously with EWM LLC, a wealth management firm based in Zurich and New Canaan, Conn., where he was managing director and chief marketing officer for executive wealth management. Before that, he was with Prudential Retirement for 25 years, and earlier, with CIGNA Corp., where he was responsible for sales, marketing, client service and strategic development.
"We are very pleased that an executive of David's caliber will be leading Retirement Plan Services in the years ahead," Lawton said. "His 30 years of experience heading sales, marketing, strategy and client service for very large and influential financial services organizations will help position RPS for the strong growth that we envision over the next several years."
McCrory Joins Lincoln Financial Distributors
Lincoln Financial Distributors, the wholesale distribution subsidiary of Lincoln Financial Group, has hired Jim McCory as a divisional sales manager for the defined contribution/small market 401(k) team.
Reporting to Peter Sims, head of intermediary sales, McCrory will be responsible for managing a team of wholesalers, as well as leading the efforts to execute on various sales strategies on a national scale.
McCrory was previously a regional sales director with The Standard Insurance Co., where he managed sales efforts in the southeast. McCrory is returning to Lincoln Financial, for from 2000 to 2009, he held a number of sales positions at Lincoln Financial Distributors, including as a national and regional sales director, a team leader and a retirement wholesaler. Earlier in his career, McCrory held a range of retirement consultant positions at Northern Trust Retirement Consulting.
"I am excited to welcome Jim back to Lincoln Financial," Sims said. "McCrory brings more than two decades of financial services experience, with a focus on defined contributions and investments. He has a proved track record for leading various sales efforts and will add significant value in helping us reach a range of objectives."
Great-West Retirement Hires Fennessy, Costello
Great-West Retirement Services has appointed Julie Costello as 401(k) third-party administration relationship manager for the western region, a newly created position.
Costello spent the past six years at Sheakley, a payroll and human resource outsource firm. She also worked as a TPA regional manager for ING North America and was a sales consultant at Paychex for nine years.
"Julie brings a broad skill set to this position, including both sales and TPA relationship management experience," said Bill Harmon, vice president of 401(k) sales, to whom Costello reports. "She also gained hands-on expertise working for a major TPA, so she understands the TPA business from a variety of perspectives."
Great-West has also hired Michael Fennessy as regional sales director for Los Angeles, reporting to Ken Munro, regional vice president. In this position, Fennessy is responsible for developing 401(k) plan business through brokers, financial advisers, consultants, wirehouses and third-party administrators.
Fennessy spent the past five years at Transamerica Retirement Services, where he served a similar market.
With his hiring, Great-West Retirement Services has approximately 55 field personnel servicing the retirement markets in southern California.
"We're excited to have someone with Mike's retirement plan expertise join our Great-West Retirement Services team," Harmon said. "Throughout his tenure as a top wholesaler in southern California, he's built some great relationships. Mike's background and insight provide him with an exceptional perspective to best position Great-West's offerings."
