Retirement Industry People Moves

Ascensus Announces New State-Facilitated Retirement Program Leader

Ascensus has announced the appointment of Scott Parry as senior vice president of the company’s state-facilitated retirement programs business. He will report directly to Peg Creonte, president of government savings. 

Parry is responsible for managing all aspects of Ascensus’ state-facilitated retirement plan business, which administers state auto-IRA programs that are quickly rolling out across the country. Ascensus currently administers the CalSavers and Illinois Secure Choice programs.

Parry joined Ascensus from Citizens Wealth Management, where he led several digital transformation initiatives. He brings more than 20 years of experience in the retirement industry to his new role at Ascensus. Prior roles include general manager of Ameritrade Retirement Services, executive vice president of FIS Retirement Services, CEO of Aon Hewitt Financial Advisors and president of Reliance Trust. 

Principal Financial Group Names Workplace Retirement Business Leader 

Principal Financial Group has announced that Teresa Hassara will join the company to lead its workplace savings and retirement business. As a senior vice president in retirement and income solutions, Hassara will report to Chris Littlefield, president of RIS, effective August 8.

Hassara has spent more than 25 years helping shape workforce retirement solutions. Prior to joining Principal, she held leadership roles at several retirement providers, including president at FuturePlan by Ascensus, head of workplace solutions at MassMutual and president of institutional retirement at TIAA.

Hassara began her career in banking after earning her B.A. in political science from Vanderbilt University and her MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is also active in her community, serving as prior board chair for Jobs for the Future and their current finance committee lead. 

Global Atlantic Hires Investment Office COO

Global Atlantic Financial Group has announced the hiring of Monica Verma as the CEO for the company’s investment office.

Verma will play a key role in the investment office, advancing core strategies and creating optimal connectivity with business partners to support the company’s objectives. She brings nearly 23 years of in-depth, hands-on experience to the role, joining Global Atlantic from Vanguard, where she was most recently the global head of enterprise treasury. Prior to Vanguard, she served as executive vice president, head of New York operations for Pacific Investment Management Company.

In February 2021, KKR, a global investment firm, purchased Global Atlantic, which now operates as a standalone, majority-owned subsidiary. Through the deal, Global Atlantic gained access to KKR’s investment expertise and scale. Global Atlantic’s investment office remains responsible for the overall performance of the investment portfolio while KKR provides investment management services.

HANYS Benefit Services Names New President

HANYS Benefit Services has announced that Noah Buck has been appointed president.

With HBS since 2019, Buck had most recently served as interim president and was previously vice president of client relationship management.

Before joining HBS, Buck was a principal in Milliman’s employee benefits practice. He earned a B.S. in management science and information systems from Penn State University and an MBA from SUNY Albany.