Retirement Industry People Moves

Lynn A. Archer has joined the tax and employee benefits team of Lathrop & Gage as counsel in its ESOP practice group.

Previously, Archer served as an ESOP consultant for Principal Financial Group, where she partnered with CPAs, legal counsel and other advisers to assist companies in connection with ESOPs.

Archer focuses her practice on the design, implementation, qualification, administration, funding, communication and termination of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). She regularly advises companies, trustees and lenders in connection with the negotiation and implementation of ESOP stock purchase and sale transactions and equity and non-equity based incentive compensation arrangements. She also advises companies regarding 401(k) and other benefit plans, employee education, corporate governance, fiduciary duties and other transactional and employee benefit matters.

Archer is actively involved in multiple ESOP organizations and currently serves on the Executive Committee for the ESOP Association Northwest Chapter, and on the Legislative and Regulatory Committee for the ESOP Association.

Robert Grossman, chair of the firm’s business law division and the leader of its ESOP practice group, cites Archer for her extensive ESOP experience.

Archer holds a juris doctor degree from Lewis & Clark School of Law in Portland, Oregon. Archer is admitted in Oregon. Her application for admittance in Missouri is pending.

Daniel Howell has joined BTIG, a global financial services firm, as director of the transition management business.

Howell will focus on business development efforts in transition management. His client coverage areas will include public and private pensions, corporations, fund managers, Taft-Hartley plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations of all sizes around the globe. Howell spent the last eight years in similar roles at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing and Citigroup Global Capital Markets.

Howell joins a team of industry experts, including Kenneth Temple, director, and Adrienne Schaefer, senior vice president. He will be based in New York and report to Thomas Smykowski, managing director and head of global portfolio and ETF trading at BTIG, who cites Howell for his industry experience.  

Anton LeRoy, chief operating officer of BTIG, lauds Howell’s deep understanding of the industry and considerable experience in a niche product.

BTIG Transition Management services asset owners undergoing portfolio rebalances and changes to their external investment management team.

Mercer has formed a strategic alliance with Vemo, a workforce analytics and planning software company. Vemo will provide the technology platform for the firm’s metrics and analytics solution that is currently provided by Mercer Analytics.

Vemo, which has been providing workforce solutions for more than 10 years, focuses exclusively on workforce intelligence software and will enhance Mercer’s current offering of a reliable technology solution with ongoing product enhancements, content, and consultative support. The offering combines Vemo’s technology with Mercer’s consulting capabilities in Workforce Analytics.

Pat Tomlinson, North American business leader for talent at Mercer, says both firms share a passion for workforce analytics.  “Most importantly, we’re committed to providing clients with a solution that bundles analytics technology and expert advice to deliver user-friendly business relevant analytics to make informed workforce decisions.”

Peter Louch, chief executive and cofounder of Vemo, says the methodology and approach to analytics and planning for both firms aligns extremely well. “Our companies will be able to offer clients a more comprehensive workforce analytics and planning solution that integrates technology and advisory services to create effective workforce strategies based on data.”