TIAA Goes Outside the Firm to Fill New Role

TIAA has appointed Melissa Kivett to the newly created role of executive vice president of corporate retirement solutions and business development, beginning May 15, according to an email sent Tuesday by a company spokesperson.

Melissa Kivett

Kivett will be responsible for identifying, managing and growing distribution channels and sales pipelines, the spokesperson explained.

“She will be responsible for the key products we will leverage for strategic growth in the 401(k) market, bringing a holistic lens from product to client development, with a focus on building partnerships to fuel our position in the market,” Colbert Narcisse, chief product and business development officer at TIAA, stated in an internal memo announcing Kivett’s hire.

TIAA created the new role for an increased focus at the firm on products, partnerships and distribution to the 401(k) corporate retirement market, according to the spokesperson.

TIAA has historically served the 403(b) retirement market, working with nonprofit and educational employers, the spokesperson noted. 

Before joining TIAA, Kivett was a managing director and head of enterprise strategic relationship management at Prudential Financial.