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Mergers and acquisitions continue at a steady pace in the employee benefits industry, revealing the sometimes intricate subsidiary and ownership layers of some companies. Here are some M&As of note, as well as new hires and promotions to start the new year off right.

American International Group (AIG) announced several prominent new hires over the last month or so:

  • Constance Hunter  – Executive Vice President, Global Head of Strategy & ESG in early 2022. Hunter joins AIG from KPMG, where she has served as Chief Economist since 2013 and as a member of the Growth and Strategy leadership team since 2020.
  • Marilyn Hirsch  – Senior Vice President, Treasurer. Hirsch rejoined AIG from the Allstate Corporation where she served as Senior Vice President & Treasurer. From 2011 to 2015, Hirsch held various leadership positions at AIG.
  • Kathleen Carbone  – Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, effective March 1, 2022. She will succeed Elias Habayeb, who was named Chief Financial Officer for AIG's Life and Retirement business. Since May 2021, Carbone has served as Vice President, Finance.

Benefits administration solution providers basys and Innovative Software Solutions announced  they have merged. Both basys and ISSI will continue to offer their respective solutions, letting customers keep working with the benefits administration technology and customer support teams they already know.  Jenny Morgan is President and CEO of the new company.

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Castlight Health, a health care data and navigation company, and Vera Whole Health, a provider of advanced primary care, announced an agreement to combine companies. Vera's majority equity holder, CD&R Funds, and Anthem, a customer of Castlight Health, will invest in the combined company. Anthem joins Morgan Health, a JP Morgan Chase & Co business, and Central Ohio Primary Care, as key strategic partners in the combined company.

HealthComp announced the appointment of Michael Scallen to the position of Vice President of Sales. In this role, Scallen will drive growth among brokers and their mid- to large-sized employer groups in the Northeast region.Scallen has 20 years of experience in the health benefits industry. Prior to HealthComp, he served as Director of Sales for the Northeast at UMR.

NAILBA and Finseca announced they have begun to explore a merger. NAILBA advocates on behalf of more than 300 independent brokers and brokerage general agencies, and its membership is approximately 10,000 members.   Finseca represents the financial security profession; its nearly 6,000 members provide life insurance and retirement planning solutions.

Reams Asset Management, a fixed income specialist, announced that Antonina Tarassiouk has joined the firm as an investment analyst. Her areas of focus will be global interest rates and foreign currencies. Previously, Tarassiouk was vice president of FX sales for Barclays Capital. Reams is a division of Scout Investments, which is an affiliate of Carillon Tower Advisers, a wholly owned subsidiary of Raymond James Financial.

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company completed its acquisition of Standard Security Life (SSL) Insurance Company of New York. SSL is a provider of New York disability benefits law and statutory paid family leave insurance, with approximately one million covered employees across 60,000 employer groups. SSL will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Standard with SSL President Gary Balzofiore reporting to Reliance Standard President Chris Fazzini.

TrueNorth announced that Jason Smith, president and CEO of TrueNorth Companies, has extended his title of President to Trent Tillman, Executive Vice President of TrueNorth's transportation division. Smith will remain CEO and Tillman will take on the role of president, while also retaining his responsibilities as EVP.

 

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C.J. Marwitz

C.J. Marwitz is a writer and editor.