Retirement Industry People Moves – 9/18/2026

Daybright Financial Appoints Beau Adams President

Beau Adams

Daybright Financial appointed Beau Adams as president of the company, reporting to CEO Megan Schneider.

“[Adams] combines deep industry experience and proven business leadership with a collaborative approach,” Schneider said in a statement. “Most importantly, he shares our commitment to simplify health and financial wellness so people can make better choices today and tomorrow.”

Adams brings nearly three decades of experience across retirement plan services, wealth management, recordkeeping, third-party administration and financial services. He most recently served as president of American Trust Retirement Services and previously held senior leadership roles with Horace Mann Insurance Co. and Benefit Consultants Group.

Pacific Financial Group Names Michael Mendenhall EVP

The Pacific Financial Group named Michael Mendenhall as executive vice president, chief marketing officer and chief communications officer. Mendenhall will sit on TPFG’s executive committee and report directly to Megan Meade.

Michael Mendenhall

Mendenhall will lead brand strategy, go-to-market execution and enterprise communications for TPFG, with a goal to accelerate adviser growth and modernize the firm’s marketing and communications capabilities.

Mendenhall has more than three decades of marketing and communications leadership experience at companies including the Walt Disney Co., Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Most recently, Mendenhall served as senior vice president, chief marketing officer and chief communications officer at human resource services firm TriNet, where he embedded artificial intelligence-powered personalization and operations capabilities across marketing and communications.

TIAA Adds Executive for Tech, AI Risk

Divyangi Anchan

TIAA announced the appointment of Divyangi Anchan as chief risk and compliance officer, technology and artificial intelligence risk. She will report to Mike Cowell, TIAA’s chief risk officer and chief compliance officer.

“From my very first interactions, it was clear that TIAA’s leadership and associates share an extraordinary level of clarity and alignment to its mission,” Anchan wrote in a LinkedIn post about her new job. “One statistic in particular has stuck with me—roughly 40% of Americans cannot retire with financial safety. A mission focused on enabling a dignified retirement for everyone deeply resonated with me. When you combine that kind of purpose with a 100+ year legacy, meaningful business growth, and exciting, in-progress technology transformation, the role of the risk and compliance organization becomes self-evident.”

Anchan previously led AI risk management and controls for Google’s enterprise and corporate capabilities. She also held senior risk and compliance roles at American Express and J.P. Morgan.

Constitution Capital Names Rick Schainker Managing Director

Rich Schainker

Constitution Capital Partners, an alternative asset manager, named Rich Schainker a managing director. Schainker will focus on expanding Constitution Capital’s defined contribution abilities, building on the firm’s recent launch of the Constitution Capital Horizon CIT.

Schainker brings more than 30 years of retirement industry experience across investment strategy, plan design, fiduciary governance and distribution. Prior to joining Constitution Capital, Schainker served as a senior director, DC strategist and investment consultant within WTW’s retirement practice. He also held senior retirement and investment roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Newfront Insurance Services LLC and Invesco.

Michael Picard Joins BPAS ESOP and kSOP Team

Michael Picard

Benefit Plans Administrative Services Inc. hired Michael Picard as a plan consultant on its employee stock ownership and kSOP team.

In his new role, Picard will work with ESOP and kSOP plan sponsors and advisers while supporting the growth and operations of the BPAS employee-ownership practice.

Picard most recently served as chief financial officer and senior associate for SWBR, a New York-based architecture, engineering and landscape design firm. He brings nearly two decades of CFO experience with privately held organizations, as well as earlier leadership roles in institutional trust and retirement services.

Gina Alsdorf Joins Groom’s Retirement Services Practice

Michael Picard

The Groom Law Group hired Gina Alsdorf as senior counsel within the firm’s retirement services practice.

Alsdorf has more than 25 years of retirement industry experience, advising insurers, recordkeepers and other financial services companies on fiduciary and regulatory issues. She started her career as an investigator for the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and later held in-house counsel roles advising senior executives for retirement and investment platform service providers.

Alsdorf’s practice focuses on the development and distribution of retirement services and products, including collective investment trusts and lifetime income products. Alsdorf also brings interest in new technologies, including blockchain and its potential for use in clearing transactions and automation.

Securian Financial Hires Head of Distribution, Strategic Initiatives, Partnerships

The Securian Financial Group Inc. hired Thomas Brennan III as head of distribution, strategic initiatives and partnerships for the company’s institutional retirement solutions business.

Brennan’s responsibilities include expanding the company’s market presence and deepening client relationships.

Previously, Brennan held executive positions at Transamerica Corp., Ascensus, Definiti and TFIN @Work. He also has worked as a strategic adviser, consultant and fractional chief revenue officer to organizations in financial services and financial technology.