Kivett Appointed 1st Head of Defined Contribution at KKR

The veteran of TIAA and Prudential started in the new role in December.

Kivett Appointed 1st Head of Defined Contribution at KKR

Alternative investment manager KKR & Co. has appointed Melissa Kivett as the firm’s first head of defined contribution, a spokesperson for KKR said.

“We are thrilled to welcome Melissa to the firm. Across KKR we have nearly 50 years of private markets investing expertise and tremendous experience in annuities within Global Atlantic,” said Daniel Celeghin, KKR’s chief operating officer for global client solutions, in a statement. “Melissa brings deep knowledge and experience building partnerships with stakeholders across the DC ecosystem. She will help us to bring all the pieces together and lead our long-term focus on serving this segment of the market.”

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Kivett joined the firm last December from TIAA, where she oversaw corporate retirement solutions and business development. Her appointment comes at a time when many large alternative investment managers are seeking to enter the defined contribution market. While private equity has long been a piece of the portfolios of traditional defined benefit pension funds, these assets are relatively uncommon in DC plans.

At his firm’s investor day in October 2024, Apollo Global Management CEO Mark Rowan said there were opportunities for the firm in the $45 trillion retirement industry, especially in the defined contribution market. The firm is a large provider of annuities through its Athene subsidiary.

“Whether it is stable value, tax-advantaged products, going after 401(k) or guaranteed lifetime income, there is no shortage of opportunities in retirement, and we truly have not even gotten started. We need to imagine this business not as an annuity business, not as a pension buyout business, but as a retirement solutions business,” Rowan said.

In January 2024, KKR completed its acquisition of the remaining 37% stake in insurer Global Atlantic Financial Group, of which KKR already owned the majority, as a push into the retirement market. Global Atlantic had $management as of the end of 2023.

“The population of folks [age] 65 and older continues to grow meaningfully, and in the next five years, the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation will retire,” said Allan Levine, Global Atlantic’s co-founder, chairman and CEO, at KKR’s investor day in April 2024. “Here’s what we know about that cohort: No. 1, they are not prepared for retirement. No. 2, they can rely less and less on defined benefit plans. Our industry is uniquely positioned to be able to provide the products that this demographic needs.”

In KKR’s Q3 2024 earnings call, the firm’s head of investor relations, Craig Larson, noted that KKR would likely deploy its first alternative investment strategies in target-date funds as its first entry in the DC space.

“At the same time, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that we think there’s a lot of industrial logic to introducing alternative strategies into target-date strategies, as individuals invest behind their continued retirement,” Larson said. “We expect that’s where you’ll see alternative strategies first introduced. It’s a massive market. It’s one that we do view as being a really interesting long-term opportunity for KKR in the industry.”

Kivett was previously executive vice president of corporate retirement solutions and business development at TIAA, where she was responsible for identifying, managing and growing the firm’s distribution channels and sales pipelines in the 401(k) market. She had previous roles at Prudential and Assurant.

Kivett earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

NCPERS Names Public Pension Communicator of the Year Award Winners

The awards honor communication professionals at public pension funds who demonstrate innovative leadership and creativity.

The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems announced four winners of the Public Pension Communicator of the Year Award, during its 2025 Pension Communications Summit on Monday in Washington, D.C.

The award honors communication professionals at public pension plans who have demonstrated innovative leadership, creativity and created a measurable impact over the past 12 months.

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Judges evaluated nominees using scoring criteria to select three winners in categories based on funds’ assets under management and one winner in the new “rising star” category, created to recognize individuals who have been at their organization for five years or less and have demonstrated “exceptional potential and growth.”

The 2024 Public Pension Communicator of the Year Award winners were as follows:

In the category for pension funds with less than $10 billion in AUM: Mehrin Rahman, communications director of the City of Austin Employees’ Retirement System.

Rahman has more than a decade of experience in public sector communications and joined COAERS in 2020. Her efforts include launching a financial wellness program, spearheading a rebrand and redesigning the fund’s website.

For funds with between $10 billion and $50 billion in AUM: Candy Albers Smith, chief communicators officer at the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System.

Smith has worked with MOSERS since 2006 and currently leads a team that designs, produces and distributes MOSERS’ websites, produces print and electronic communications, and delivers more than 100 member education events each year. Her team’s interactive campaign for MOSERS Month, “The Wonderful World of Retirement,” was designed to encourage members to view their annual benefit statement and resulted in a 24% increase in engagement compared with the prior year.

For funds with more than $50 billion AUM: Jonathan Yost, senior marketing and communications specialist at the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System.

Yost has more than 18 years of PR and communications experience, bringing a “data-driven and innovative” approach to Oregon PERS’ content and engagement strategy, according to NCPERS. His key achievements include the redesign of the agency’s flagship publication, “PERS by the Numbers,” and the development of the agency’s first “Popular Annual Financial Report.”

In the rising star category: Mary-Joy Coburn, director of communications at the Orange County Employees Retirement System.

In less than two years, Coburn transformed OCERS’ communication strategy and revamped OCERS’ digital presence by modernizing the website, optimizing social media engagement and redesigning the OCERS newsletter. “Her innovative outreach, including webinars and dynamic video content, has simplified complex retirement topics to make them approachable for all audiences,” NCPERS stated.

More information about the awards can be found on the NCPERS website.

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