People on the move

Atlanta Life Financial Group has hired William J. Taggart, 49, as president and chief executive.

Previously, he was chief operating officer for the Office of Federal Student Aid in Washington, appointed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

RBC Capital Markets LLC of Toronto has hired Michael Goldberg, 46, as managing director and co-head of its U.S. equity capital markets investment-banking group; Mark Goldstein, 49, as a managing director in its U.S. financial sponsors investment-banking group; and Charles Smith, 43, as a managing director in its U.S. leveraged-finance investment-banking group.

All three are based in New York.

Mr. Goldberg is responsible for strengthening the company’s equity capital markets product offering to the various industry clients it serves. Previously, he was a managing director and an industry vertical head in the equity capital markets group at Barclays Capital Inc. of New York.

Mr. Goldstein is responsible for relationships with financial sponsors across all product areas including acquisition, leveraged-buyout financing, mergers and acquisitions, equities, and derivatives and swaps. Previously, he was head of restructuring and liability management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in London for JPMorgan Chase & Co. of New York.

Mr. Smith is responsible for the consumer, industrial and financial institution verticals within RBC’s leveraged-finance group.

Previously, he was head of corporate finance at Loughlin Meghji + Co. of New York.

Montage Investments of Leawood, Kan., has hired Anthony Carrubba, 45, as national sales manager, David Henriksen, 57, as head of distribution, and Jenny Rhodus, 36, as director of national accounts.

Mr. Carrubba is responsible for overseeing the firm’s nationwide wholesaling team. He works to position the firm’s products with the wirehouse, regional, independent and registered investment adviser channels.

Previously, he was vice president of strategic accounts for Ivy Funds of Overland Park, Kan., where he oversaw RIA and retirement distribution efforts.

Mr. Henriksen oversees the distribution effort of the firm and is responsible for business development and for building the firm’s distribution capabilities. Previously, he was a manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC of Leawood, a Montage affiliate, where his responsibilities included portfolio management and product development.

Ms. Rhodus ensures that the firm’s products are placed on various platforms and executes selling agreements with custodial platform providers. She works to position the firm’s products with the wirehouse, regional, independent and RIA channels.

Previously, Ms. Rhodus was national director of the RIA channel for Ivy Funds, where she was responsible for sales team leadership, strategic planning and new-market development.

Russell Investments of Seattle has named Keith Lennon, 42, director of defined-contribution solutions; Michelle Rappa, 45, director of business growth and defined contribution; and Shelton “Shellie” Unger, 55, director of plan sponsor sales.

Mr. Lennon is responsible for enhancing Russell’s offerings to institutional DC plan investors, including a full suite of services and solutions such as glide path management and customized target date funds. Previously, he was director of product for Americas Institutional at Russell, where he led the team responsible for all aspects of product development and management across the defined-benefit, DC and nonprofit market segments.

Based in New York, Ms. Rappa will lead new-business-development initiatives focused on identifying Russell investment management capabilities relevant to DC plan sponsors and introducing them to the marketplace. Previously, she was an independent consultant with the Russell Indexes team, helping to design and develop product strategy.

Based in New York, Ms. Unger will lead a focused initiative to introduce the full depth and breadth of Russell Indexes’ product and service offering to plan sponsors, as well as foundations, endowments and consultants. Previously, she was a principal within institutional asset management at The Vanguard Group Inc. of Malvern, Pa., where she led U.S. nonprofit sales and global consultant relations.

TruColor Capital Management LLC of Boston has hired Arlene Rockefeller, 62, as president and chief operating officer; Michael Dunn, 55, as chief research officer; and Luke Smith, 49, as senior research officer.

Ms. Rockefeller is responsible for portfolio management, operations and management. Previously, she was the global equities chief investment officer for State Street Global Advisors of Boston, where she oversaw management of more than $800 billion in assets under management.

Mr. Dunn is responsible for setting research direction. Previously, he was a director and senior portfolio manager in Boston for Franklin Portfolio Associates LLC/Mellon Capital Management Corp., now part of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. There, he managed more than $1 billion in an alternative-equities portfolio.

Mr. Smith is responsible for quantitative research and daily model production. Previously, he was a managing director and portfolio manager for New York Life Investments, where he was responsible for research, development and the implementation of global quantitative equity strategies and managed nearly $500 million.

Clearbrook Financial LLC of Princeton, N.J., has hired Steve Formanek, 53, as chief operating officer; Bryan Decker, 40, as managing director and co-head of research; MaryAnn DiMaggio, 47, as managing director; Paul Morgan, 56, as managing director and senior consultant; and Megan Mones, 27, as associate director.

As chief operating officer, Mr. Formanek, a member of Clearbrook’s executive committee, is responsible for compliance, finance and operations. Previously, he was chief operating officer of Evaluation Associates LLC of Norwalk, Conn.

Mr. Decker is responsible for developing both short-term and long-term views of market opportunities and managing activities across traditional and alternative asset class research teams. Previously, he was managing director and chief investment strategist at Evaluation Associates.

Ms. DiMaggio is responsible for fixed-income market coverage, asset class research, and the evaluation and recommendation of investment managers. Previously, she was director of fixed-income research at Evaluation Associates.

As senior consultant, Mr. Morgan advises on all aspects of investment programs including governance, investment policy, asset allocation, portfolio structure, manager selection, alternative investments and portfolio evaluation. Previously, he was a senior consultant and director of capital markets re-search at Evaluation Associates.

Ms. Mones is re-sponsible for managing all marketing, advertising and promotional activities, as well as implementing marketing plans for all new and existing lines of business. Previously, she was a marketing associate at Evaluation Associates.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. of Brookfield, Wis., has hired John Mueller, 30, as vice president of marketing and sales.

He is responsible for further developing marketing and distribution of the company’s growing investment product offerings.

Previously, Mr. Mueller was director of marketing and client services at Nakoma Capital Management LLC of Milwaukee.

Ariel Investments LLC of Chicago has hired Rupal J. Bhansali, 43, as senior vice president and chief investment officer of international equities, effective this fall.

Based in New York, she will be responsible for managing Ariel’s new international and global strategies for separately managed account clients as well as mutual fund shareholders.

Previously, Ms. Bhansali was senior managing director at MacKay Shields LLC, an affiliate of New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC.

Kinetic Partners of London has hired Mike Seery, 45, as director of its corporate recovery and restructuring practice.

Based in New York., he is responsible for building upon Kinetic Partners’ expertise in offshore liquidations and extending it to U.S.-based restructuring, wind-down and asset recovery roles.

His role is part of the firm’s increased focus on restructuring advisory, creditor’s committees, business valuations and financings.

Previously, Mr. Seery was senior vice president of financial restructuring at CRT Investment Banking LLC of Stamford, Conn.

UBS Wealth Management Americas of New York has hired Ajay Mehra, 46, as managing director and head of manager and fund research.

He is responsible for delivering investment advice and guidance to financial advisory clients covering more then $100 billion of institutional and retail separately managed account assets and more than $200 billion of mutual fund assets.

Previously, Mr. Mehra was a portfolio manager and partner at Columbus Nova LLC of New York, where he managed a global-biased-equity fund and worked on principal investing transactions for investments in emerging markets.

The Newport Group of Heathrow, Fla., has hired Anthony Laudato, 39, as vice president and chief actuary.

He will lead the firm’s bank-owned life insurance line of business and will build on Newport’s es-tablished presence in the bank and financial institution marketplace. Mr. Laudato also is responsible for developing, broadening and expanding Newport’s relationships with leading insurance carriers.

Previously, he was senior vice president and chief product officer at Clark Consulting LLC of Dallas, where he was responsible for business strategy formulation, product innovation, life cycle management and talent development.

New York Life Insurance Co. has hired Chris Ashe, 40, as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the company’s retirement income security unit.

He is responsible for overseeing all financial aspects of the business, including financial planning and reporting, product pricing, investment alignment and risk management.

Previously, Mr. Ashe was vice president of financial and strategic planning at the Prudential Annuities division of Prudential Financial Inc. of Newark, N.J., working both in Newark and Shelton, Conn.

ING Investment Management Americas of Atlanta has hired Robert Robis, 40, as senior portfolio manager on the global bond team and head of fixed-income macro strategies.

He will help set strategies across global rates, sectors and currencies for various investment portfolios run by the firm and will serve as portfolio manager for the ING Global Bond Fund.

Previously, Mr. Robis was senior fixed-income portfolio manager and global macro strategist at OppenheimerFunds Inc. of New York.

Founders Financial Network of Cupertino, Calif., has hired Jovita Honor, 40, as a partner.

She will work in the Cupertino and Palo Alto, Calif., offices and will be directly involved in business development.

Previously, Ms. Honor was a founding principal at Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. of San Jose, Calif.

Fogel Neale Wealth Management LLC of New York has hired Michael Markiewicz, 58, as a partner.

He manages the financial planning and tax services group and is a personal chief financial officer with particular expertise in catering to the gay and lesbian community. Additionally, Mr. Markiewicz oversees the firm’s new suite of services called the personal CFO plan, which is offered to professionals seeking fundamental financial guidance in better managing their finances with regard to wealth preservation, tax planning and comprehensive budgeting.

Previously, he was a senior manager of family office services at CBIZ MHM LLC of New York.

Sloan Securities Corp. of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has hired Brecc Avellar, 52, as a registered securities principal, and Jeffrey M. Lloyd, 54, as a registered representative.

Mr. Avellar will focus on business succession planning and investment banking while managing assets for select individuals.

He is the founder and president of Off the Grid Energy Works Inc. of Pilot, Va., a technical advisory and development company in the alternative-energy industry.

Mr. Lloyd will represent both institutional and retail customers.

Previously, he conducted a retail adviser business in Paramus, N.J., for Chase Investment Services Corp. of New York, as a financial adviser and vice president of investments.

Informa Investment Solutions of White Plains, N.Y., has hired Liza Litzow, 46, as senior vice president of strategic client solutions.

Based in Southborough, Mass., she will help lead a growing team of senior enterprise sales specialists focused on delivering the firm’s newly integrated product offerings.

Previously, Ms. Litzow was managing director in the consulting services group in Boston for Bank of America Corp. of Charlotte, N.C.

There, she was responsible for the bank’s $50 billion investment advisory business and was instrumental in the launch of its unified managed account program.

Keating Investments LLC of Denver has hired Daniel Morris, 37, as a vice president and member of the origination team.

He is responsible for analyzing and evaluating new investment opportunities for Keating Capital, a pre-initial-public-offering investment fund.

Previously, Mr. Morris was a director of semiconductor equity research at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. of New York.

VSR Financial Services Inc. of Overland Park, Kan., has promoted Ken George, 59, to national sales manager. Based in Dripping Springs, Texas, he will assist VSR representatives in the Southwest as well as focus on supporting the business growth of VSR’s 280 independent reps throughout the nation.

Previously, Mr. George was a regional vice president in charge of building VSR’s presence in the Southwest.

Related Topics: People