Deals & People September 4, 2014

Ascensus Names Three Regional VPs

Christopher Han, Michael Demler and Michael Palace have joined Ascensus as regional vice presidents. 
Reported by

Han, Demler and Palace will work with financial professionals, third-party administrators and financial institutions—including outsourcing partners and DCIO (defined contribution, investment only) wholesalers—to build and maintain the firm’s distribution networks.

Before coming to Ascensus, Han was a defined contribution internal adviser consultant at BlackRock and a retirement operations analyst at Morgan Stanley. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, as well as FINRA Series 6, 66, and 7 designations. Han will represent the New York Metro region.

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Demler was previously at Huntington National Bank, where he served as a wholesaler before becoming vice president and sales manager of retirement plan services. Previously, he was a regional sales director at Great-West Retirement Services. Demler holds a bachelor’s degree in business finance from Kent State University. He holds the chartered retirement plans specialist designation as well as FINRA Series 6, 7 and 63 designations, along with an Ohio insurance license. Demler will cultivate and tend to Ascensus’ key relationships throughout the mid-America region.

Palace comes to Ascensus from ADP Retirement Services, where he was a retirement services district manager. He also worked as a sales consultant with Transamerica Retirement Solutions. Palace holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University. He also holds the chartered retirement plans specialist designation as well as FINRA Series 6 and 63 designations. Palace will cover the Midwest.

Deals & People September 4, 2014

Mesirow Financial Adds to Investment Unit

Mike DiCenso joined Mesirow Financial as managing director and head of national sales on the investment strategies team. 
Reported by

DiCenso is responsible for strategic initiatives, business development, sales and marketing. He reports to Mike Annin, the group’s senior managing director. 

DiCenso has more than 27 years of experience in executive-level business development, sales and marketing roles in institutional retirement services. Before coming to Mesirow Financial, he was president at Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, where he was responsible for growing assets in the retirement service division. Prior to Gallagher, DiCenso was executive vice president of sales and marketing with RSM McGladrey.

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DiCenso holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a double major in management and marketing, from Missouri Southern State University. He completed the LIMRA Leadership Institute Fellowship (LLIF) program at Babson College.

The Mesirow Financial investment strategies team is an independent, third-party consultant that provides asset-allocation strategies and manager selection to defined contribution providers.

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