Retirement Industry People Moves

Lincoln Financial Group has named Jamie Ohl president of its retirement plan services business. Ohl assumes the position from Mark Konen, president of insurance and retirement solutions at Lincoln Financial Group, who served as interim head of the business since March. She will be based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and will report to Konen, who leads Lincoln’s life, group protection and retirement plan services businesses. Ohl’s position is effective August 17.

Her deep knowledge of all aspects of the retirement plan services industry make Ohl an ideal choice to help guide the business in ways that foster growth and innovation for the firm’s customers, Konen said in a release.

Prior to joining Lincoln, Ohl served as a principal at Edward Jones, leading the broker/dealer’s strategic direction and product management for its retirement business, including retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. From 2012 to 2014, she was president of tax-exempt markets at Voya Financial (previously ING U.S.) and before joining Voya, she was president of Wilshire Funds Management at Wilshire Associates Incorporated.

Throughout her career, she has also held leadership positions at The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. where she spearheaded the firm’s entry into the 403(b) market and led the growth of its 401(k) business. Ohl also spent 11 years at AIG VALIC, where she was the senior vice president of institutional markets. She has also held retirement-related roles at Hewitt Associates.

Ohl is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist with the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and a Qualified Pension Administrator with the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). She holds Series 6, 7, 24, 26 and 63 FINRA licenses.

Ohl holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Le Tourneau University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska.

David Levenson, a principal at Edward Jones who has overall responsibility for products and service, will fill Ohl’s former position on an interim basis.

Barbra A. Byington has been named outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) strategy leader, a new position at Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, the institutional investment & fiduciary services practice of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Byington has been with the firm for 15 years, providing analysis and recommendations to institutional clients on their funds’ overall investment policy, strategic asset allocation and investment manager structure, with the goal of meeting long-term objectives.

In the OCIO marketplace, Byington will focus on delivering delegated, proactive and innovative investment approaches to help organizations address challenges such as business demands with limited time and investment resources, drawing on her 20+ years of public and private sector investment experience.

Byington holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and French  from Washington and Lee University, and attended L’Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationale as a Fulbright Scholar in international economics.

Christopher Jarmush, area senior vice president, has been named the defined contribution investment strategy leader.

Jarmush, who has been with Arthur J. Gallagher for seven years, will focus on the defined contribution investment marketplace, researching and developing advanced solutions to address fiduciary obligations, cost-effective plans, and diversified and appropriate options for plan sponsors, drawing on his 20+ years in investment consulting, asset management and retirement plan industries. He was previously vice president, investment information and research manager at  T. Rowe Price. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and financial management services from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

The two specialist roles were created to meet the growing needs of clients in fiduciary delegation and defined contribution investments, as well as industry demands for a focus on these strategic areas.  The firm has increasing need for objective oversight in the OCIO and defined contribution investment spaces, according to Nick Davies, area president of the firm’s institutional investment and fiduciary services practice.

Brett Dutton has been named asset liability solutions specialist at PNC Institutional Asset Management (IAM).

In his new role, Dutton is responsible for interfacing with the IAM team to determine product suitability for customers and prospects, and educating market teams and other bank partners on asset liability management services such as liability driven investing (LDI) for pensions and dynamic portfolio analysis for endowments and foundations. He is based in Columbus, Indiana, and reports to Debbie Kolsovsky, managing director of Institutional Advisory Solutions at PNC.

Previously, Dutton was a fixed-income analyst and actuary for Reams Asset Management, specializing in consulting on pension risk and LDI strategies. Before Reams, he held positions in the actuarial field with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and Mercer in Columbus, Ohio.  

Dutton holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Grove City College, graduating first in his class, and a master’s degree in music from Pennsylvania State University. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and an enrolled actuary, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. 

NEXT: Trang Lam comes to Northern Trust Asset Management. 

Trang Lam has joined Northern Trust Asset Management as senior client investment officer in the multi-manager investment outsourcing practice. Based in Toronto, Lam is responsible for managing institutional investment programs for Canadian clients, including the development of investment policies, asset allocation recommendations, risk management, investment manager search and selection, and portfolio construction.

Lam brings more than 15 years of experience in a variety of investment roles, most recently as senior manager, pension investments at TD Bank Group. Her background includes developing and implementing overall investment policy, determining strategic asset allocation and setting investment strategy. Lam also has expertise in the development of risk budgets and liability driven investment (LDI) frameworks.

Andrew Smith, practice executive for Northern Trust Asset Management in Canada, cited Lam’s experience as a plan sponsor for a large and sophisticated pension group as well as her expertise in risk budgeting, liability driven investing, and managing multiple internal and external relationships. “Pensions and other large asset owners need to balance governance and management objectives: protecting the interests of both the sponsor and the beneficiaries,” Smith said. “Trang can work with senior client executives to develop sophisticated investment solutions that meet each organization’s specific objectives and goals.”

Before TD Bank Group, Lam was manager, pension investments at Maple Leaf Foods Inc., where she had leadership responsibility for the investment management oversight for defined benefit plans and capital accumulation plans. She has also held positions at Royal Bank of Canada and Frank Russell Canada.

Lam holds a bachelor's degree in business from York University: Schulich School of Business, and is a graduate of the Ivey Executive Leadership Academy. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the Toronto CFA Society.