Retirement Industry People Moves

Jacques Chappuis Appointed President, CEO of PGIM

Prudential Financial Inc. announced that the firm has appointed Jacques Chappuis, current co-head of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, as president and CEO of Prudential’s asset management business, PGIM Inc.

Chappuis’ appointment is effective May 1, 2025, and he will succeed David Hunt, who has been president and CEO of the $1.4 trillion asset manager since 2011. Hunt will retire in May and stay on as chairman until July 31 to ensure a smooth transition.

Chappuis will report to Andy Sullivan, Prudential Financial’s executive vice president and head of international business and global investment management.

“Jacques is well known for his deep commitment to clients, his leadership in acquisitions, and breadth of expertise across public and private market solutions,” Sullivan said in a statement. “We know that he is the right person to lead PGIM’s next chapter of growth.”

Chappuis has held the title of co-head of MSIM for almost a year. He was the global head of distribution and co-head of solutions and multi-strategy at MSIM between 2016 and 2023 and was also previously the head of investment solutions at the Carlyle Group.

Tom Darnowski Promoted to Americas CEO at Schroders

Tom Darnowski

Schroders plc on Thursday announced the promotion of Tom Darnowski to CEO of the Americas. Formerly the global head of product strategy, his promotion is effective on January 1, 2025. Darnowski will succeed Phil Middleton, who will be promoted to serve as the firm’s head of the U.K.

Both Darnowski and Middleton will report to Karine Szenberg, Schroders’ global head of client group.

Darnowski has worked at Schroders for nearly 12 years. Prior to his role as global head of product strategy, he was head of North American product. Previously, he was managing director of mutual funds at insurer The Hartford.

“I am excited for the opportunity to shape our future growth in the Americas during a time of evolution across the industry and the firm,” Darnowski said in a statement. 

Wagner Law Group Adds Cybersecurity Attorney

Joshua Cook

Cybersecurity attorney Joshua Cook will join The Wagner Law Group as of counsel, based in Boston.

Cook is an expert in cybersecurity law issues who had been running his own practice after working in-house at John Hancock, a Manulife Financial company.

Cook specializes in assessing privacy, cybersecurity programs, business continuity plans and vendor profiles “in order to assist clients in developing a big-picture view of the existing threat environment and key risks,” according to an announcement from Wagner Law. He also negotiates cybersecurity-related contracts and assists in resolving contract disputes.

“Josh has a proven history of helping clients identify and address cybersecurity law issues and we are delighted that he is joining us and introducing a new and crucial practice area to our firm,” Wagner Law’s managing director, Marcia S. Wagner, said in the announcement.

Cetera Financial CEO Antoniades to Retire, Replaced by Durbin

Adam Antoniades

The CEO of Cetera Financial Group, Adam Antoniades, will retire at the end of this year, the firm’s parent company, Cetera Holdings, announced Thursday.
Antoniades will be replaced by the current CEO of that parent firm, Mike Durbin, who will retain both roles. Antoniades will remain on Cetera’s board of directors, “focusing on working with Cetera’s most mature practices to develop strategic growth plans,” according to the announcement.

Durbin joined Cetera in May 2023 after leaving a senior adviser role with Fidelity Investments in which he reported to Chairman and CEO Abigail Johnson; he had at one point been president of Fidelity’s institutional division.

The move comes as Antoniades and Durbin have continued to grow Cetera’s more-than-12,000-adviser footprint both through acquisitions and organic growth, while also fostering its 401(k) plan advisement practice.

Antoniades has served as CEO since 2019, during which time Cetera acquired nine companies and boosted assets under management by 200% to $2.8 billion, according to the announcement. The firm has also expanded offerings for its adviser network to include proprietary client management and lead generation platforms.

Antoniades had been president of Cetera Financial Group from 2014 to 2019 and, before that, was co-founder and CEO of First Allied Securities from 1994 to 2014.

The Standard Names Hall 2nd VP and Retirement Plans Actuary

Winston Hall

Standard Insurance Co., The Standard, has promoted Winston Hall to second vice president and retirement plans actuary.

Hall, who joined the firm in 2022, was promoted to the role from a position as second vice president and actuary in actuarial transformation strategy and enablement. In his new role, he will lead The Standard’s recordkeeping, retirement plans institutional and federal home loan bank actuarial teams, as well as the recordkeeping pricing team.

“With Winston’s extensive industry experience in leadership across functions and teams, he is positioned for success as both a technical expert and a strategic thought leader within our retirement plans division,” Julie Briggs, The Standard’s vice president of emerging markets and strategic innovation and asset management group actuary, said in a statement. “We are also excited about the increased opportunities to optimize our Actuarial Transformation capabilities throughout AMG under Winston’s guidance.”