Retirement Industry People Moves

Ascensus Appoints Retirement Sales Leads in Northern Texas, Pacific Northwest

Ben Buehler

Trent Schrader

Ascensus LLC has appointed Ben Buehler and Trent Schrader as regional vice presidents for retirement sales.

Buehler will provide product sales and services coverage for Ascensus the Northern Texas; Schrader is responsible for the Pacific Northwest region, serving Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, according to the Dresher, Pennsylvania-based firm.

Both vice presidents will report to Lori Zeman, the Ascensus western division vice president.

Buehler joined Ascensus in 2022, most recently serving as an internal sales consultant. He was previously a senior regional sales consultant at PCS Retirement.

Schrader joined Ascensus in 2021, most recently serving as an internal sales consultant. Before that role, he was a regional sales consultant at CUNA Mutual Retirement.

“I’m proud to be able to promote such strong talent from within to further support our partners and their clients,” Jason Crane, head of retirement distribution at Ascensus, said in a statement. “Both Trent and Ben already have outstanding reputations and a track record of excellence at Ascensus and I’m excited to see that continue to flourish.”

Plan Sponsor University Names Kelleher to Vet Plan Advisers

Andy Kelleher

The Plan Sponsor University hired Andy Kelleher as a senior account executive, helping plan sponsors conduct fiduciary due diligence on retirement plan advisers.

The Plan Sponsor University offers services to support examining retirement plan benchmarking, requests for information and requests for proposals, Fred Barstein, founder and CEO, wrote via email.

“ERISA [The Employee Retirement Income Security Act] requires plan fiduciaries to make sure that all vendors paid out of plan assets are qualified and that their fees are reasonable,” Barstein says. Plan sponsors “rely on their adviser or consultant to perform due diligence on investments [and] their recordkeeper. That same principle applies to their adviser or consultant, yet, obviously, they cannot conduct due diligence on themselves.”

Kelleher reports to Barstein. Kelleher has worked in the retirement services industry for 35 years, with stops at MassMutual, Fidelity Investments and TIAA.

Alex Sauickie

AdvicePay Names Alex Sauickie CEO

Processing payments and fee-for-service financial planning firm AdvicePay has named Alex Sauickie as CEO, succeeding co-founder Alan Moore, who will transition to be executive chairman of the company’s board. Michael Kitces, who runs financial planning industry site Kitces.com, will remain in his current role as a co-founder of the firm.

Sauickie takes the position after roles that include global head of wealth and retirement services at Fidelity National Information Services Inc., president and CEO of CircleBlack and leadership positions at payment experience firms Paytrust and Billtrust.

Sauickie will draw on his experience in leading and scaling financial technology companies in support of registered investment advisers, broker/dealers and large financial institutions to lead AdvicePay, according to the firm.

“AdvicePay’s culture and commitment to excellence, talented team, and unwavering dedication to innovation has set it apart as an industry leader,” Sauickie said in a statement. “I am committed to building upon the strong foundation established by Alan and Michael and look forward to working closely with the team and leveraging our collective strengths to achieve even greater milestones together to bring the growing trend of fee-for-service to more advisers and enterprise institutions.”

AdvicePay has seen 123% growth in advisers being added to the platform in the past two years, 153% growth in transaction volume and a 141% boost in annual recurring revenue, according to the announcement.

Federated Hermes Promotes Marzula

Diane Marzula

Investment manager Federated Hermes Inc. has promoted Diane Marzula to senior vice president and manager for global accounts.

Marzula will lead the global accounts team to deliver resources and strategies sought by Federated Hermes’ largest clients, according to the announcement. She will report to Bryan Burke, director of strategic solutions.

Marzula has been director of the firm’s 75-member client engagement center since 1996, during which time she promoted more than 95 internal sales team members to the company’s external sales team and spearheaded the implementation of a new customer relationship management tool, according to the firm.

“Diane’s extensive sales leadership and business development experience made her an ideal choice to lead the company’s global accounts efforts,” Paul Uhlman, president of Federated Securities Corp., said in a statement. “Diane will work closely with the home offices to customize solutions and best meet their evolving investment needs.”

Fiduciary Trust Names Emily Guadagnoli Head of Marketing

Emily Guadagnoli

Wealth manager Fiduciary Trust International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, has promote Emily Guadagnoli to head of marketing.

Guadagnoli takes the position after working as the marketing director for advisory solutions for the firm, responsible for investment marketing strategy. In her new role, she will work with senior leadership to align marketing efforts with overall business goals, according to the firm.

“Emily has two decades of experience as a marketing, media relations, and corporate communications professional, and she has proven herself a valued member of our team,” Gene Todd, executive vice president and head of regional markets at Fiduciary Trust International, said in a statement. “Her expertise will help us continue to drive growth, deepen client relationships, as well as standout as an industry leader and trusted advisor within the wealth management space.”

Guadagnoli joined Fiduciary Trust in 2020 when it acquired Athena Capital Advisors, where she was director of marketing. She also served as vice president of communications at Harvard Management Co., where she was responsible for developing and implementing internal and external communication strategies.